English
ensorcell
Ensorcell comes from Old French ensorceler ‘to cast a spell, enchant’, from sorcier ‘sorcerer’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ser- ‘to bind’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ser-‘to bind’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sértisreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sortis‘joining, joint’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsors‘fate, lot’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sorcier‘sorcerer’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400ensorceler‘to cast a spell, enchant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1589ensorcell
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ser-‘to bind’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sértisreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sortis‘joining, joint’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsors‘fate, lot’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sorcier‘sorcerer’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400ensorceler‘to cast a spell, enchant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1589ensorcell
Earliest quotation: 1589, attributed to George Puttenham, Of Figures Sententious, otherwise Called Rhetoricall: “Not any one of all theſe honord parts /…”
The story
From Old French ensorceler (‘to cast a spell, enchant; to captivate’), a variant of ensorcerer, from en- (prefix meaning ‘caused’) + sorcier (‘sorcerer’) (ultimately from Latin sors (‘fate, lot; oracular response’), from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (‘to bind’)).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ser- ‘to bind’
series, service, serve, hero, stream, conservative, desert, reservoir, insert, assertion, sermon, exert, heresy, conservatism, assertive, concierge, observant, servitude, heretic, sark, sorcerer, servile, serf, conservator, sere, strudel, 30 more
through Proto-Italic *sortis ‘joining, joint’
consortium, consort, sortie, 2 more
through Latin sors ‘fate, lot’
Today it means
verb To bewitch or enchant.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ser- / ensorcell