mesmerism

English

WOTD – 5 March 2016
An 1849 portrait of Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1815) by Jules Porreau

Etymology

From French mesmérisme, analysable as Mesmer + -ism; so called after Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1815), a German physician who developed the animal magnetism theory.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmɛzməˌɹɪzəm/
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: mes‧mer‧ism

Noun

mesmerism (countable and uncountable, plural mesmerisms)

  1. The method or power of gaining control over someone's personality or actions, as in hypnosis or suggestion.
    • 1848, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, Chapter 23:
      What is the secret mesmerism which friendship possesses, and under the operation of which a person ordinarily sluggish, or cold, or timid, becomes wise, active, and resolute, in another's behalf?
  2. The state induced by hypnotic methods (especially that of Mesmer himself).

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Further reading

  • mesmerism in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
  • mesmerism in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
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