becharm
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English becharmen, bicharmen, equivalent to be- (“on, upon”) + charm.
Pronunciation edit
- Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)m
Verb edit
becharm (third-person singular simple present becharms, present participle becharming, simple past and past participle becharmed)
- (transitive, archaic) To charm; fascinate; hold by a charm or spell.
- 1851, Herman Melville, chapter 135, in Moby-Dick:
- Ahab knew that the whale had sounded; but intending to be near him at the next rising, he held on his way a little sideways from the vessel; the becharmed crew maintaining the profoundest silence, as the head-bent waves hammered and hammered against the opposing bow.