affascinante

Forms

affascinante m or f by sense (plural affascinanti)^[1]

Etymology

It is the present participle of affascinare “to charm, enchant”, used as an adjective: from Italian affascinare + -ante.^[2][3][4][5] The verb, recorded from Tasso in 1573, is formed from fascino with the prefix a- and the verb ending.^[2][6][1] DELI rejects an earlier record attributed to Giordano da Pisa, which the older dictionaries took from a forgery.^[2][7]

The noun is a learned word from Latin fascinum (“evil spell; amulet”) (also masculine fascinus), recorded in Italian from Sannazaro in 1485.^[2][6] DELI suggests the Latin word arose from a crossing of fascis (“bundle”) with Ancient Greek βάσκανος (báskanos, “sorcerer, one who casts the evil eye”).^[2] Nocentini thinks the Latin word cannot be separated from the Greek one, which belongs with βάσκω (báskō, “to slander, curse”), recorded by Hesychius; the ⟨b-⟩ would show that the Greek word came from a dialect outside classical Greek, and the Latin word would be a loan.^[6][8] De Vaan likewise sees both as possible loans from an unknown third language, with the meaning “curse, spell”.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Anton Maria Salvini, who died in 1729.^[2][6][9] Salvini wrote of the force of love, dolce ed attrattiva, e per così dire, affascinante “sweet and alluring, and so to speak, bewitching”.^[5][10]

Semantic evolution

The adjective first followed the old sense of fascino, “an evil spell”: the GDLI's first sense is “that bewitches with the harmful power of the gaze or of words, that casts the evil eye”, and Tommaseo lists occhio and incantesimo affascinante.^[5][10][2] The figurative sense “charming, attractive” grew with fascino itself, which DELI records in the sense “power of attraction” from 1640.^[2][5]

Today the word is used of people, looks, smiles and manners, and also of books, music, places and ideas that hold the attention.^[9][3][4] Its usual synonyms are incantevole and seducente, and Gabrielli gives ripugnante as its opposite.^[9][11]

Timeline

• 1485 – Sannazaro uses fascino for “evil spell”.^[2]
• 1573 – Tasso uses affascinare “to charm, enchant”.^[2]
• 1640 – Fascino is recorded in the sense “power of attraction”.^[2]
• Before 1729 – Anton Maria Salvini uses affascinante.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. fascinating, charming, attractive: of a person who wins others over by looks or manner: È un uomo affascinante, colto e spiritoso.^{[12][9][3][1]}
2. Of a thing, captivating, compelling: un viaggio affascinante tra le rovine antiche.^[12][9][4]
3. (dated) That bewitches or casts the evil eye.^[5][10]

Related words

• affascinare
• fascino
• fascinoso
• fascinazione
• Latin fascinum

Usage notes

Affascinare “to tie into bundles”, from fascina, is a separate and rare verb, recorded in Franco Sacchetti before 1400.^[2][7][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
5. ^ a b c d e f Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
6. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
8. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
12. ^ a b De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET