Word of the Day
incantāre
Incantāre
Latin
English pronunciation/ɪnˈtʃɑːntmənt/Latin pronunciation/inkanˈtaːre/
“The word 'enchantment' comes from Latin incantāre — 'to chant upon' — because the original magic was singing. Every enchantment is a song.”
Latin incantāre means 'to chant upon,' 'to sing a spell over,' from in- (upon) and cantāre (to sing, frequentative of canere). The word is transparently musical: to enchant is to sing upon someone. Incantation, chant, and enchantment are all siblings from the same Latin singing root. The same root gives English 'canticle,' 'cantor,' and 'cantata.' Magic and music were, in Latin, the same verb. The distinction between a spell and a song was a difference of intention, not of technique.
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