Charisma

How to spell charisma

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce charisma

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does charisma mean?

1. nounA compelling charm or magnetism that inspires devotion or attention in others.

Charisma in a sentence

• The new manager won over the team with her natural charisma.

• Voters responded to his charisma more than to his policies.

Where does charisma come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The word comes from the Greek kharisma, which meant a 'favour' or a 'gift freely given', built on the noun kharis meaning 'grace, kindness, or favour'. In early Christian Greek the plural charismata referred to the spiritual gifts said to be granted by divine grace, such as healing or prophecy, and the word travelled into Latin in that religious sense. English first adopted it in the 1600s strictly as a theological term for a god-given talent or favour. Only in the twentieth century, helped along by the sociologist Max Weber writing about gifted leaders, did charisma settle into its modern everyday meaning of a compelling personal magnetism. The same Greek kharis sits inside 'charity' and the name 'Charis', and remembering that grace-and-gift root explains the unexpected 'ch' (pronounced like a hard k) at the front of the spelling.

How the word is built

• charis- (from Greek kharis: grace, favour)
• -ma (Greek noun suffix denoting the result of an action)