bewitch

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bəˈwɪt͡ʃ/

• Audio (Southern England)

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• 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:

     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.

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

Derived terms

Translations