51吃瓜 of the Day
More about cantrip
Cantrip, 鈥渁 magic spell,鈥� may not be related to the English verbs can and trip, but that doesn鈥檛 mean that its origin is any clearer. One possibility is that cantrip is a variant of Old English calcatrippe, 鈥渃altrop,鈥� with the shift from l to n resulting from dissimilation, as we learned about from ensorcell. Calcatrippe is equivalent to Latin calx, 鈥渟pur, heel鈥� (as in calcaneus, a bone of the heel), plus Old English 迟谤忙辫辫别, 鈥渟tep鈥� (compare modern English trap). Another possibility is that the can- element comes from Latin 肠补苍迟腻谤别, 鈥渢o sing,鈥� (as in enchant, incantation, and past 51吃瓜 of the Day descant), while -trip element is related not to trap but rather to rope because ropelike objects are a common element in sorcery. Cantrip was first recorded in English in the 1710s.
how is cantrip used?
And that old witch, Eliza鈥擨 little guessed she鈥檇 play this cantrip on me: But what a jest鈥擩erusalem, what a jest!
I murmured a cantrip鈥攁 quick, common form of magic鈥攁nd a ball of butterscotch light manifested above my head. I sent it up a flight of rickety stairs…
ensorcell
verb (used with object)
to bewitch.
More about ensorcell
Ensorcell, 鈥渢o bewitch,鈥� comes from Middle French ensorceler, of the same meaning, which is a dissimilated variant of ensorcerer. Dissimilation refers to when one of two identical sounds in a word happens to change, such as how colonel is pronounced 鈥�kur-nl鈥� in US English and February often becomes 鈥�feb-yoo-er-ee鈥�; without dissimilation, the two l鈥檚 in colonel and the two r鈥檚 in February would be preserved in speech. Learn more about dissimilation from the 51吃瓜 of the Day porphyry. Ensorcerer ultimately derives from Latin sors (stem sort-), 鈥渓ot, fate.鈥� Another descendant of sors today is French sortir, 鈥渢o exit,鈥� which comes via Latin 蝉辞谤迟墨谤墨, 鈥渢o cast lots,鈥� perhaps with the influence of surgere (stem 蝉耻谤谤脓肠迟-), 鈥渢o spring up, arise, stand up.鈥� Ensorcell was first recorded in English circa 1540.
how is ensorcell used?
He was a hoarder who had all the most beautiful crystal and linens鈥攏ot to mention Truman Capote鈥檚 old sofa鈥攂ut he never entertained. He sometimes wondered why he could ensorcell so many with his wit and style but not have a lover.
More about selcouth
Selcouth, 鈥渟trange, uncommon,鈥� comes from Old English 蝉别濒诲肠奴迟丑, which is equivalent to seldan, 鈥渟eldom,鈥� and 肠奴迟丑, 鈥渃outh, known, acquainted with.鈥� Seldan has a number of relatives in other Germanic languages, including Dutch zelden, German selten, and Norwegian sjelden, but no known cognates outside the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family. 颁奴迟丑 was the original past participle of can (Old English cunnan) before it evolved into Middle English coud, gained an l by analogy with should and would, and became could. Selcouth, as a word of Old English origin, was first recorded in English before 900 CE.
how is selcouth used?
From among them one could gather out a whole menagerie of the ‘selcouth‘ beasts and birds and creeping things that have been banished from solid earth into the limbo of Fa毛ry and Romance.
鈥淏ut during his convalescence he had a selcouth 别虫辫别谤颈别苍肠别.鈥�
鈥�Selcouth? What does that mean?鈥� I said.
鈥淚t’s an archaic English word meaning unusual or strange, my unlearned colleague.”