fascination

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin fascinātiō (“a casting of spells, bewitching”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a noun of action from the past participle of fascinō (“to bewitch, cast a spell on”),^[2][3][4] from fascinum (“spell, witchcraft”), which is of uncertain origin.^[2][3][7] The OED notes that fascinum may be related to Ancient Greek βάσκανος (báskanos, “sorcerer”), or that both may be borrowed from a third language.^[2] It compares Middle French fascination (1488),^[2] and notes that the English noun is recorded before the verb fascinate.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The casting of spells; sorcery or witchcraft: 1572, in J. Leslie.^[2] Etymonline dates it to about 1600,^[3] and Dictionary.com to 1595–1605.^[6]

Semantic evolution

At first the word belonged to witchcraft; between 1622 and 1767 it also meant the state of being under a spell.^[2][8] Johnson (1755) still defined it as the power or act of bewitching, an unseen influence that cannot be explained.^[9] From 1697 it was used of the power to captivate, an irresistible attraction, and since 1768 of the state of being captivated or keenly interested.^[2][3] Like the verb, it was used of snakes and the basilisk, which were said to hold their prey still by their gaze (1766),^[2][3] and then of a person unable to move or look away, as from horrified curiosity (1808).^[2] Merriam-Webster marks the sense "enchantment" as obsolete.^[5]

Timeline

• 1572 – the casting of spells, sorcery.^[2]
• 1622 – the state of being under a spell (obsolete after 1767).^[2]
• 1697 – the quality of captivating, allure.^[2]
• 1715 – a fascinating thing or person.^[2]
• 1766 – the power of a snake or basilisk to hold its prey by its gaze.^[2]
• 1768 – the state of being intensely interested.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A strong attraction to something or someone, or intense interest in it: his lifelong fascination with clocks.^[5][2]
2. The power to captivate or hold one's attention: the fascination of old maps.^[5][2]
3. Something that fascinates: Trains were her great fascination.^[2][5]
4. (obsolete) The casting of a spell; enchantment or witchcraft.^[5][2][8]

Related words

• fascinate
• fascinating

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.