Enchanting

How to spell enchanting

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce enchanting

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does enchanting mean?

1. adjectiveCharmingly delightful in a way that holds your attention or affection.

Enchanting in a sentence

• The couple stayed in an enchanting cottage near the coast.

• She gave an enchanting performance that the whole audience loved.

Where does enchanting come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb incantare, meaning 'to sing a magic spell over' or 'to bewitch', formed from in- 'upon' and cantare 'to sing'. The same cantare root gives English a whole family of singing words, including 'chant', 'canticle', and even 'accent'. English took the word through Old French enchanter, which kept the literal sense of casting a spell by chanting, and the spelling 'chant' inside it preserves that musical origin. By the time it settled into English in the 1300s, the magical sense had begun to soften into the familiar modern meaning of being so delightful that one feels charmed or spellbound. Remembering the buried word 'chant' is the easiest way to keep the unusual 'ch' spelling rather than writing it as a plain 'tch' or 'sh' sound.

How the word is built

• en- (to make, put into)
• chant (from cantare: to sing)
• -ing (adjective suffix)