Wiktionary

charm

See also: Charm

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English charme, from Old French charme (“chant, magic spell”), from Latin carmen (“song, incantation”).

Alternative forms

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Noun

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charm (countable and uncountable, plural charms)

  1. An object, act or words believed to have magic power (usually carries a positive connotation).
    Synonyms: incantation, spell, talisman
    a charm against evil
    It works like a charm.
  2. (often in the plural) The ability to persuade, delight or arouse admiration.
    Synonyms: appeal, attraction, charisma
    Antonyms: boredom, dryness
    He had great personal charm.
    She tried to win him over with her charms.
  3. A small trinket on a bracelet or chain, etc., traditionally supposed to confer luck upon the wearer.
    Synonyms: amulet, dangle, ornament
    She wears a charm bracelet on her wrist.
  4. The collective noun for a group of goldfinches.
    Synonym: flock
  5. (particle physics) A quantum number of hadrons determined by the number of charm quarks and antiquarks.
    Coordinate term: strangeness
    • 1975 July 31, Sandra Blakeslee, “Another Particle Believed Discovered”, in The New York Times‎[1], →ISSN:
      In trying to understand the long life of the psi particle, physicists postulated the notion of “charm.” Charm, they say, prevents the “easy” decay of particles and thus prolongs their lifetimes. U particles, Dr. Pert said, may carry the property of charm.
    • 2020, James E. Dodd, Ben Gripaios, The Ideas of Particle Physics, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 173:
      Mesons which combine the charmed quark with the up or down antiquarks are denoted the D mesons. These mesons carry explicit charm (i.e. have a non-zero charm quantum number), just as the K mesons carry strangeness.
  6. (finance) A second-order measure of derivative price sensitivity, expressed as the instantaneous rate of change of delta with respect to time.
    Synonyms: delta decay, DdeltaDtime
    Hypernym: Greeks
  7. (graphical user interface, Microsoft Windows) An icon providing quick access to a command or setting.
    • 2012, J. Peter Bruzzese, Using Windows 8:
      Undoubtedly one of the most important pieces to navigating Windows 8, charms are actually not visible until a command to show them is given.
Translations
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Verb

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charm (third-person singular simple present charms, present participle charming, simple past and past participle charmed)

  2. To seduce, persuade or fascinate someone or something.
    Synonyms: delight, enchant, enamor, entrance
    He charmed her with his dashing tales of his days as a sailor.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
      […] they, on thir mirth & dance / Intent, with jocond Muſic charm his ear;
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 58:
      The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.
  3. (transitive) To use a magical charm upon; to subdue, control, or summon by incantation or supernatural influence; to ensorcel or exert a magical effect on.
    Synonyms: bewitch, enchant, ensorcel, enspell
    After winning three games while wearing the chain, Dan began to think it had been charmed.
  4. To protect with, or make invulnerable by, spells, charms, or supernatural influences.
    She led a charmed life.
  5. (obsolete, rare) To make music upon.
    • 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “October. Ægloga Decima.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC, folio 42, recto:
      But ah my corage cooles ere it be warme, / For thy, content vs in thys humble ſhade: / Where no ſuch troublous tydes han vs aſſayde, / Here we our ſlender pipes may ſafely charme.
  6. To subdue or overcome by some secret power, or by that which gives pleasure; to allay; to soothe.
    • 1687 (date written), Alexander Pope, “Ode for Musick on St. Cecilia’s Day”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], →OCLC, canto VII, page 378:
      Music the fierceſt griefs can charm, / And fate's ſevereſt rage diſarm: […]
Translations
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Derived terms

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Etymology 2

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Synchronically a variant of chirm, but reflects Middle English charme (or unattested *charm), from Old English ċearm (“cry, alarm”), from Proto-West Germanic *karm, masculine variant of *karmi f, from Proto-Germanic *karmiz, *karm(j)az (“cry, lament, calling sound”). Near-doublet of chirm, which is from the feminine counterpart.

Alternative forms

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Noun

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charm (plural charms)

  1. The mixed sound of many voices, especially of birds or children.
  2. A flock, group (especially of finches).
    • 2018, Holly Ringland, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart:
      A charm of finches flew overhead, singing into the vivid afternoon sky.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Chinese

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Etymology

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From English charming.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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charm

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) charming

Danish

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from English charm.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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charm c (singular definite charmen, plural indefinite charms)

  1. charm (jewelry)
Inflection
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Declension of charm
common
gender 		singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative charm charmen charms charmene
genitive charms charmens charms' charmenes

Etymology 2

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See charme (“to charm”).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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charm

  1. imperative of charme

Palauan

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

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charm

  1. animal

References

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  • charm in Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary, at tekinged.com.
  • charm in Palauan-English Dictionary, at trussel2.com.
  • charm in Lewis S. Josephs, Edwin G. McManus, Masa-aki Emesiochel (1977) Palauan-English Dictionary, University Press of Hawaii, →ISBN, page 35.

Swedish

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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charm c

  1. charm; the ability to persuade, delight, or arouse admiration

Declension

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Declension of charm
nominative genitive
singular indefinite charm charms
definite charmen charmens
plural indefinite — —
definite — —
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References

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