bewitch

English

Etymology

From Middle English bewicchen, bewycchen, biwicchen, equivalent to be- +‎ witch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bəˈwɪt͡ʃ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪtʃ

Verb

bewitch (third-person singular simple present bewitches, present participle bewitching, simple past and past participle bewitched)

1. (transitive) To cast a spell upon.
   • 1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter II, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 10:

     Afterwards Jim said the witches bewitched him and put him in a trance, […]

   • 1901, Andrew Lang, “The Fairy of the Dawn”, in The Violet Fairy Book‎^[1]:

     But above all beware never to look the Fairy of the Dawn in the face, for she has eyes that will bewitch you, and glances that will befool you.

2. (transitive) To fascinate or charm.

   Synonym: forspeak (obsolete)

   I was bewitched by the sight of the girl dancing in the forest.

   • 1648, Robert Herrick, “Delight in Disorder”, in Hesperides: Or, The Works both Humane & Divine […], London: […] John Williams, and Francis Eglesfield, and are to be sold by Tho[mas] Hunt, […], →OCLC, page 29:

     A Svveet diſorder in the dreſſe / Kindles in cloathes a vvantonneſſe: / […] / A Cuffe neglectfull, and thereby / Ribbands to flovv confuſedly: / […] / Do more bevvitch me, than vvhen Art / Is too preciſe in every part.

3. (transitive) To astonish, amaze. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Derived terms

• bewitchable
• bewitchedness
• bewitchee
• bewitcher
• bewitchery
• bewitchful
• bewitching
• bewitchingly
• bewitchingness
• bewitchment
• unbewitch

 

Translations

to cast a spell upon

• Albanian: ysht (sq), mësysh (sq) (evil eye)
• Asturian: abruxar
• Azerbaijani: ovsunlamaq (az)
• Belarusian: зачаро́ўваць impf (začaróŭvacʹ), зачарава́ць pf (začaravácʹ)
• Bulgarian: омайвам (bg) (omajvam), омагьосвам (bg) (omagjosvam)
• Catalan: embruixar (ca)
• Cherokee: ᎦᏁᎫᏗᎠ (ganegudia)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 施魔法於／施魔法于, ^{(please verify)} 蠱惑／蛊惑 (zh) (gǔhuò)

• Czech: očarovat pf, začarovat pf, uhranout (cs) pf, zaklít (cs) pf, okouzlit pf, učarovat pf
• Dutch: betoveren (nl)
• Esperanto: sorĉi
• Finnish: noitua (fi)
• French: ensorceler (fr), envoûter (fr)
• Galician: enfeitizar, enmeigar (gl), galar (gl), embruxar
• German: verhexen (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: βασκαίνω (baskaínō)

• Hungarian: megbabonáz (hu)
• Ingrian: noitia, noitua
• Latin: fascino (la), effascino, incanto
• Low German:

  German Low German: betövern, vertövern

• Macedonian: маѓепса (maǵepsa)
• Maori: mākutu, whaiwhaiā, whaiā, whitihoro
• Norman: enchorchéler, entchéthaûder
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: forhekse

  Nynorsk: forhekse

• Polish: czarować (pl)
• Portuguese: enfeitiçar (pt)
• Quechua: layqay
• Romanian: vrăji (ro), fermeca (ro), fascina (ro)
• Russian: околдо́вывать (ru) impf (okoldóvyvatʹ), околдова́ть (ru) pf (okoldovátʹ), зачаро́вывать (ru) impf (začaróvyvatʹ), зачарова́ть (ru) pf (začarovátʹ)
• Scots: witch, forspeak, vaum, hex, glamour, beglamour, blink
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: зачарати, уклети

  Roman: začarati (sh), ukleti (sh)

• Spanish: hechizar (es), embrujar (es)
• Swahili: roga (sw)
• Swedish: förhäxa (sv)
• Tocharian B: (causative voice) yānk-
• Turkish: büyülemek (tr), büyü yapmak (tr)
• Ukrainian: зачаровува́ти impf (začarovuváty), зачарува́ти pf (začaruváty)
• Volapük: bemagivön (vo)
• ǃXóõ: gǁxài

fascinate, charm

• Galician: enfeitizar, embruxar
• Greek:

  Ancient: κηλέω (kēléō), θέλγω (thélgō)

• Latin: fascino (la)
• Russian: оба́ивать (ru) impf (obáivatʹ), обая́ть (ru) pf (obajátʹ)
• Southern Ohlone: aami
• Swedish: förhäxa (sv)
• Turkish: büyülemek (tr)