charm - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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

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; see also Thesaurus:amulet, Thesaurus:magic spell
    a charm against evil
    • 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 223:
      The witch, repository of hieratic lore and folk legends and occult arcana, became the distributor of philtres and unguents, electuaries and pastilles, herbs and charms and incantations - directed toward sexual pleasures and amatory satisfactions.
  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; see also Thesaurus:amulet
  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.

something with magic power

quality of inspiring delight or admiration — see also charisma,‎ game

a small trinket on a bracelet or chain

property of subatomic particle

Translations to be checked

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

  1. To seduce, persuade or fascinate someone or something.
    Synonyms: delight, enchant, enamor, entrance, fetch
    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.
  2. (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.
  3. To protect with, or make invulnerable by, spells, charms, or supernatural influences.
    She led a charmed life.
  4. (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.
  5. 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: […]

seduce, entrance or fascinate

use a magical charm

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.

charm (plural charms)

  1. The mixed sound of many voices, especially of birds or children.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, 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:
      Sweet is the breath of morn, her riſing ſweet,
      With charm of earlieſt Birds;
    • 1955, William Golding, The Inheritors, Faber and Faber, published 2005, page 152:
      The laughter rose like the charm of starlings.
  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.

From English charming.

charm

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) charming

Borrowed from English charm.

charm c (singular definite charmen, plural indefinite charms)

  1. charm (jewelry)

See charme (“to charm”).

charm

  1. imperative of charme

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qayam (“domesticated animal”).

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

charm

  1. animal
  2. living creature

charm c

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