charisma
Plural: charismas, charismata
Noun
- A compelling attractiveness or charm that inspires devotion.
- a personal attractiveness or interestingness that enables you to influence others
- A gift or power of leadership or authority.
- A gift or power of leadership or authority.
- The capacity to inspire devotion or enthusiasm; personal charm.
- A gift or power bestowed upon a person by the Holy Spirit; a grace.
Examples
- the charisma of a popular actor
- The leader has his charisma.
- The word CHARISMA itself seemed to have a magnetic pull on the Words With Friends board.
Origin / Etymology
From Ancient Greek χᾰ́ρῐσμᾰ (khắrĭsmă, “grace, favour, gift”), from χᾰρῐ́ζομαι (khărĭ́zomai, “I show favor”), from χᾰ́ρῐς (khắrĭs, “grace”), from χαίρω (khaírō, “I am happy”). Doublet of charism. First attested in 1875.
Outside of theology, as early as 1930, charisma was found in a translation of a book written by German sociologist Max Weber, which OED and Etymonline regards as a semantic loan from German Charisma, denoting the special ability of certain leaders to inspire devotion (sense 1). By the 1940s and more clearly in the 1950s, the term was used more loosely to refer to personal charm in general (sense 1.1).
Scrabble Score: 15
charisma: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordcharisma: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
charisma: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary