Etymograph

English

enchantment

Enchantment comes from Old French enchantement ‘charm’, from enchanter ‘to enchant’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n- ‘to sing’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keh₂n-1‘to sing’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂néti1uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kanō1‘to sing’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanō1‘to sing, recite, play’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcantus2‘song’uncertain
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincantāre2uncertain
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400enchanter3‘to enchant’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400enchantement4‘charm’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enchauntement4‘magic, sorcery’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1885enchantment4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin cantus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French enchanter
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old French enchantement
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English enchantment
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1885, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, London: Smith: “I see now that it's all enchantment in this…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keh₂n-Wiktionary, Latin cantus‘to sing’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂nétiWiktionary, Latin cantusuncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kanōWiktionary, Latin cantus‘to sing’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanōWiktionary, Latin cantus‘to sing, recite, play’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcantusWiktionary, Old French enchanter‘song’uncertain
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincantāreWiktionary, Old French enchanteruncertain
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400enchanterWiktionary, Old French enchantement‘to enchant’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400enchantementWiktionary, English enchantment‘charm’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enchauntementWiktionary, English enchantment‘magic, sorcery’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1885enchantmentWiktionary, English enchantment. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1885, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, London: Smith: “I see now that it's all enchantment in this…”

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *kanō ‘to sing’

chanting, cantor, incantation, recant, chantry, chanter, 43 more

through Latin canō ‘to sing, recite, play’

cant, accent, incentive, chant, bazooka, shanty, chanson, 49 more

through Latin cantus ‘song’

canto, canticle, 3 more

Today it means

noun The act of enchanting or the feeling of being enchanted.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “enchantment”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin cantus, Old French enchanter, Old French enchantement. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n- / enchantment

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