vt. 使着迷,使神魂颠倒
vi. 入迷
fascinate 着迷
来自拉丁语fascis, 带子,绷带,缘自古罗马时期的生殖器崇拜文化,人们把一根男性生殖器(fascinum)状的器具作为护身符随身携带,同时,巫师对该物念动咒语以唤醒其神力和召唤生育神(Fascinus)的保护。引申词义着迷,入魔。
To fascinate is to bring under a spell, as by the power of the eye; to enchant and to charm are to bring under a spell by some more subtle and mysterious power. [Century Dictionary]Possibly from Greek baskanos "slander, envy, malice," later "witchcraft, sorcerery," with form influenced by Latin fari "speak" (see fame (n.)), but others say the resemblance of the Latin and Greek words is accidental. The Greek word might be from a Thracian equivalent of Greek phaskein "to say;" compare enchant, and German besprechen "to charm," from sprechen "to speak." Watkins suggests the Latin word is perhaps from PIE *bhasko- "band, bundle" via a connecting sense of "amulet in the form of a phallus" (compare Latin fascinum "human penis; artificial phallus; dildo"). Related: Fascinated; fascinating.
If [baskanos] and fascinum are indeed related, they would point to a meaning 'curse, spell' in a loanword from an unknown third language. [de Vaan]