mesmerism

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical: a system developed by Franz Mesmer that claimed an invisible force could produce physical or hypnotic effects

   The traveling lecturer demonstrated what he called mesmerism before a skeptical audience.

2. 2
   noun

   the practice or effect of hypnotizing or powerfully fascinating someone

   The performer held the room in a kind of mesmerism.

Borrowed from French mesmérisme and formed from the surname of Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) + -ism. Mesmer proposed a force called animal magnetism; later practice and vocabulary shifted toward hypnosis and figurative fascination.

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