Ensorcell

Ensorcell (pronounced en-sawr-suhl)

(1) To bewitch; to cast a spell.

(2) Figuratively, (ie not involving witchcraft proper), a  woman's ability to captivate or enchant another (historically a man or men).

1535–1545: From the French ensorceller, from the Middle French ensorceler (to bewitch), a dissimilated variant of the Old French ensorcerer, the construct of which was en- (from Old French en-, a prefixation of Latin in (in, into)) + the verb from sorcier (sorcerer; wizard).  The ultimate root of sorcier was the Latin sors (fate, lot; oracular response; destiny, fate or fortune of an individual), from the primitive Indo-European ser- (to bind).  The alternative spelling is ensorcel.  Ensorcell & ensorcelling  are verbs, ensorcelled is a verb & adjective and ensorcellment is a noun; the noun plural is ensorcellments.  In English, the French verb ensorceler has been used as a noun.  

Despite the pedigree of the words from which it comes reaching back to antiquity. the verb ensorcell (to cast a spell or bewitch) didn’t appear in English until the sixteenth century and then only briefly, use not revived until the nineteenth century when the explorer Sir Richard Burton (1821-1890) included it in The Tale of the Ensorcelled Prince, a translation of a title of one of the Arabian Nights Tales (1885).  Ensorcell had appeared in Henry Torrens’ (1806-1852) earlier (partial translation) The Book of The Thousand Nights and One Nights (1838) which Burton had read and admired.  Prior to this, the only known instance in English was in George Puttenham's (1529-1590) Arte of English Poesie (1589), which was reprinted in the early nineteenth century and Torrens may have picked it up from there.  Thanks to the efforts of Burton, Torrens and others, in the imagination of the West, the art of ensorcellment became much associated with the women of the East, one of the themes Edward Said (1935-2003) would explore in his still controversial Orientalism (1979).

Victims

“She came forward swaying from side to side and coquettishly moving and indeed she ravished wits and hearts and ensorcelled all eyes with her glances.”  (The Tale of the Ensorcelled Prince in Arabian Nights stories (1885) by "Scheherazade", translated by Sir Richard Burton).

Ensorcell is one of those words in English which may have proved useful had it ever come into general use but it remained rare and now inhabits the niche of translations of exotic texts or tales of witchcraft and sorcery.  For most purposes the many alternatives are preferable:  hypnotize, fascinate, enthrall, stupefy, tickle, bewitch, captivate, please, delight, beguile, cajole, wow, enrapture, attract, mesmerize, enamor, gratify, charm, entice & thrill.  However, the word can be used to discuss men who are victims of beguiling women and there have been many:

Men who have been victims of ensorcellment, clockwise from top left: Bill Clinton (b 1946; US president 1993-2001) with Monica Lewinsky (b 1973); Barnaby Joyce (b 1967; thrice (between local difficulties) deputy prime minister of Australia 2016-2022) with Vikki Campion (b 1985), Welsh actor Richard Burton (1925–1984) with Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011) (depicted here by Grant Bowler (b 1968) with Lindsay Lohan (b 1986) on-set in Cleopatera (1963) (Liz & Dick, 2012); & Daryl Maguire (b 1959, MLA (Liberal) for Wagga Wagga 1999-2018) with Gladys Berejiklian (b 1970; Premier (Liberal) of New South Wales 2017-2021).

Bill Clinton was one of the best & brightest minds ever to become POTUS but he was way too simple for Washington DC.  Anyone from New York could have told him there are low-risk ways to have affairs but if you have a fling with with a Jewish girl from Beverly Hills it's going to cost you something sometime.  So he's a victim but has only himself to blame, having already been ensorcelled by crooked Hillary Clinton (b 1947; US secretary of state 2009-2013).

Barnaby Joyce was a happily married man with four daughters until ensorcelled by his media advisor (a profession which appears to regard ensorcellment as a calling given their history with other National Party politicians).  Still, the adulterous couple later married and their two children were able to attend the wedding so all's well that end's well.

The other Richard Burton was the Welsh actor ensorcelled by fellow thespian Elizabeth Taylor.  As his turbulent life would suggest he wasn't one to learn from his mistakes because she managed twice to ensorcell him, their first marriage (1964-1974) enduring a little over ten years, the second (1975-1976) a bare ten months.  It was Dr Johnson (Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)) who said “A second marriage is a triumph of hope over experience.” and Burton doubtless knew of the quote so he too has only himself to blame.  When he died at 58 after decades of heavy drinking, it was said of him his body was like that of Randolph Churchill (1911-1968) who expired at 57: "Everything was just worn-out."

Gladys Berejiklian's ensorcellment of Daryl Maguire didn't end well with the former premier resigning after being found by the NSW Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) to have acted corruptly for, inter alia, an act of Billigung.  In the court of public opinion she did rather better, the consensus being something between "she was too good for him" and "what on earth was she doing with him?"  On-line and in print, there was much sympathy for her from other ensorcelers, anxious to assure her she wasn't alone and "every woman has had a Daryl"  Nobody seemed to express any sympathy for Mr Maguire so clearly the verdict was to "blame the victim".