enchantress

English

Alternative forms

• enchauntress, inchantress (both obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English enchaunteresse, from Old French enchanteresse; equivalent to enchanter +‎ -ess.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈt͡ʃæntɹɪs/, /ɛnˈt͡ʃæntɹɪs/, /-ɹəs/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈtʃɑːntɹɪs/, /ɛnˈtʃɑːntɹɪs/, /-ɹəs/

Noun

enchantress (plural enchantresses)

1. A woman, especially an attractive one, skilled at using magic; an alluring witch.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 51, page 201:

     Him fortuned (hard fortune ye may gheſſe) / To come, vvhere vile Acraſia does vvonne [live], / Acraſia a falſe enchauntereſſe, / That many errant knightes hath fovvle fordonne: […]

   • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 25:

     The tablets upon which the events of the day were recorded refer to enchantresses, and we can conclude that they were by no means restricted to ancient beldames.

2. A beautiful, charming and irresistible woman.

   She was the enchantress of men’s hearts.

3. A femme fatale.

   His desire for that enchantress led him to financial ruin.

Synonyms

• (alluring witch): siren, sorceress
• (beautiful woman): See Thesaurus:beautiful woman
• (femme fatale): See Thesaurus:vamp

Translations

attractive woman skilled at using magic

• Catalan: fetillera (ca) f, bruixa (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 女妖 (zh) (nǚyāo), 女巫 (zh) (nǚwū), 妖精 (zh) (yāojing)

• Dutch: tovenares (nl),heks (nl)
• Finnish: lumoojatar
• French: enchanteresse (fr) f
• German: Zauberin (de) f
• Irish: bandraíodóir m, draíodóir mná m
• Italian: incantatrice f
• Japanese: 魔女 (ja) (まじょ, majo)
• Latin: lamia f
• Polish: czarodziejka (pl) f
• Russian: волше́бница (ru) f (volšébnica), колду́нья (ru) f (koldúnʹja), чароде́йка (ru) f (čarodéjka)
• Spanish: encantadora (es) f, hechicera (es) f
• Swedish: trollkvinna c
• Ukrainian: чарівни́ця f (čarivnýcja)

beautiful, charming and irresistible woman

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 妖精 (zh) (yāojing)

• Dutch: verleidster (nl), charmeuse (nl)
• Finnish: lumoojatar
• German: bezaubernde Frau f
• Japanese: 魅惑的な女性 (みわくてきなじょせい, miwakutekina josei), 魅惑的な女 (みわくてきなおんな, miwakutekina onna)
• Russian: чаровни́ца (ru) f (čarovníca), обворожи́тельница (ru) f (obvorožítelʹnica), очарова́тельная же́нщина f (očarovátelʹnaja žénščina), обворожи́тельная же́нщина (obvorožítelʹnaja žénščina)
• Ukrainian: чарівни́ця f (čarivnýcja)

femme fatale

• Swedish: tjuserska (sv) c