mesmerize

Where does the word "mesmerize" come from? It comes from German Mesmer, passing through French before entering English (1829).

Mesmerize’s story begins in German: Mesmer meant “a family name.” Franz Anton Mesmer developed his theory of 'animal magnetism', a supposed invisible fluid he claimed to channel into patients, in Vienna in the 1770s. By 1780s, the word had taken hold in French as mesmérisme. Mesmer's Paris séances became a craze until a royal commission including Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Lavoisier concluded in 1784 that the effects came from imagination. It reached English by 1829 as mesmerize. First 'to hypnotise', then 'to fascinate', as mesmerism gave way to James Braid's 'hypnotism' in the 1840s. Today, mesmerize means to hold someone's attention completely; to hypnotise.

1. Stage 1 · German · 1770s Mesmer "a family name", Franz Anton Mesmer developed his theory of 'animal magnetism', a supposed invisible fluid he claimed to channel into patients, in Vienna in the 1770s.
2. Stage 2 · French · 1780s mesmérisme "animal magnetism", Mesmer's Paris séances became a craze until a royal commission including Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Lavoisier concluded in 1784 that the effects came from imagination.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1829 mesmerize "to hold spellbound", first 'to hypnotise', then 'to fascinate', as mesmerism gave way to James Braid's 'hypnotism' in the 1840s.