charm1

[chahrm] /tʃɑrm/
noun
1.
a power of pleasing or attracting, as through personality or beauty:
charm of manner; the charm of a mountain lake.
2.
a trait or feature imparting this power.
3.
charms, attractiveness.
4.
a trinket to be worn on a bracelet, necklace, etc.
5.
something worn or carried on one's person for its supposed magical effect; amulet.
6.
any action supposed to have magical power.
7.
the chanting or recitation of a magic verse or formula.
8.
a verse or formula credited with magical power.
9.
Physics. a quantum number assigned the value +1 for one kind of quark, −1 for its antiquark, and 0 for all other quarks. Symbol: C.
Compare charmed quark.
verb (used with object)
10.
to delight or please greatly by beauty, attractiveness, etc.; enchant:
She charmed us with her grace.
11.
to act upon (someone or something) with or as with a compelling or magical force:
to charm a bird from a tree.
12.
to endow with or protect by supernatural powers.
13.
to gain or influence through personal charm:
He charmed a raise out of his boss.
verb (used without object)
14.
to be fascinating or pleasing.
15.
to use charms.
16.
to act as a charm.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English charme < Old French < Latin carminem, accusative of carmen song, magical formula < *canmen (by dissimilation), equivalent to can(ere) to sing + -men noun suffix
Related forms
charmedly
[chahr-mid-lee] /ˈtʃɑr mɪd li/ (Show IPA), adverb
charmer, noun
charmless, adjective
charmlessly, adverb
Synonyms
1. attractiveness, allurement. 4. bauble. 5. talisman. 6. enchantment, spell. 8. spell. 10. fascinate, captivate, entrance, enrapture, ravish; allure, bewitch.

charm2

[chahrm] /tʃɑrm/
noun, British Dialect
1.
blended singing of birds, children, etc.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English cherm(e), Old English cerm, ceorm, variant of ci(e)rm outcry
Examples from the web for charm
  • Given its charm and allure, the polar bear's possible demise has struck a chord with people over the world.
  • For college presidents, personal charm is a double-edged sword that must be wielded deftly.
  • Its charm may have been buried under new concrete, but it is ready for business.
  • Sociopaths are unlikely to cause physical harm, preferring to manipulate and charm to get what they want.
  • They blend together wonderfully which is all part of this city's charm.
  • These sunny giants bring old-fashioned charm and a bounty of edible seeds.
  • It might not be the biggest air show in the world, but its definitely got charm.
  • Next year, he'll once again find a happy home with another team, which evidently believes that this time will be the charm.
  • Political memoirs aim to make money and charm voters.
  • In which a marine scholar uses science and charm to sound the alarm about the state of the coasts.
British Dictionary definitions for charm

charm1

/tʃɑːm/
noun
1.
the quality of pleasing, fascinating, or attracting people
2.
a pleasing or attractive feature
3.
a small object worn or kept for supposed magical powers of protection; amulet; talisman
4.
a trinket worn on a bracelet
5.
a magic spell; enchantment
6.
a formula or action used in casting such a spell
7.
(physics) an internal quantum number of certain elementary particles, used to explain some scattering experiments
8.
like a charm, perfectly; successfully
verb
9.
to attract or fascinate; delight greatly
10.
to cast a magic spell on
11.
to protect, influence, or heal, supposedly by magic
12.
(transitive) to influence or obtain by personal charm: he charmed them into believing him
Word Origin
C13: from Old French charme, from Latin carmen song, incantation, from canere to sing

charm2

/tʃɑːm/
noun
1.
(Southwest English, dialect) a loud noise, as of a number of people chattering or of birds singing
Word Origin
C16: variant of chirm
Word Origin and History for charm
n.

c.1300, "incantation, magic charm," from Old French charme (12c.) "magic charm, magic, spell; incantation, song, lamentation," from Latin carmen "song, verse, enchantment, religious formula," from canere "to sing" (see chant (v.)), with dissimilation of -n- to -r- before -m- in intermediate form *canmen (for a similar evolution, see Latin germen "germ," from *genmen). The notion is of chanting or reciting verses of magical power.

A yet stronger power than that of herb or stone lies in the spoken word, and all nations use it both for blessing and cursing. But these, to be effective, must be choice, well knit, rhythmic words (verba concepta), must have lilt and tune; hence all that is strong in the speech wielded by priest, physician, magician, is allied to the forms of poetry. [Jacob Grimm, "Teutonic Mythology" (transl. Stallybrass), 1883]
Sense of "pleasing quality" evolved 17c. Meaning "small trinket fastened to a watch-chain, etc." first recorded 1865. Quantum physics sense is from 1964. To work like a charm (figuratively) is recorded by 1824.

v.

c.1300, "to recite or cast a magic spell," from Old French charmer (13c.) "to enchant, to fill (someone) with desire (for something); to protect, cure, treat; to maltreat, harm," from Late Latin carminare, from Latin carmen (see charm (n.)). In Old French used alike of magical and non-magical activity. In English, "to win over by treating pleasingly, delight" from mid-15c. Related: Charmed; charming. Charmed (short for I am charmed) as a conventional reply to a greeting or meeting is attested by 1825.

charm in Science
charm
  (chärm)   

  1. One of the flavors of quarks, contributing to the charm number—a quantum number—for hadrons.

  2. A charmed particle is a particle that contains at least one charmed quark or charmed antiquark. The charmed quark was hypothesized to account for the longevity of the J/psi particle and to explain differences in the behavior of leptons and hadrons. See more at flavor.


charm in Technology
language
An explicitly parallel programming language based on C, for both shared and nonshared MIMD computers.
(ftp://a.cs.uiuc.edu/pub/CHARM).
Mailing list: .
["The CHARM(3.2) Programming Language Manual", UIUC, Dec 1992].
(2006-04-29)
Related Abbreviations for charm

CHARM

Coupled Hydrosphere-Atmosphere Research Model
Idioms and Phrases with charm

charm

In addition to the idioms beginning with charm
charm the pants off
also see:
Encyclopedia Article for charm

a practice or expression believed to have magic power, similar to an incantation or a spell. Charms are among the earliest examples of written literature. Among the charms written in Old English are those against a dwarf and against the theft of cattle. The word is from the Old French charme and the Latin carmen, "ritual utterance," "incantation," or "song."

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