charm
Charm (noun from French charmer 'fascinate', 'delight', 'enchant'; originally Latin carmen 'song', 'poem' or 'song', also Latin carminare 'enchant') is used regularly in German language usage a quality of an individual used in the sense of a charming, captivating being . It is less common, but also common, to use it to denote the charm of a thing or action ( something “has charm” ).
Charm in the sense of the personality trait is a very soft and therefore difficult to define term and its main use describes a certain type of charisma of a person. Most German translations, such as Liebreiz , Anmut or also Zauber , also focus on this personal characteristic, whereby the direct use of charm is often more precise than one of the possible translations.
By 1700, first came to Germany charming as a present participle of the French charmer in the sense of charm (a person) in use. This was followed in the 18th century by the noun charm in the sense of amiability or winning character , with which it is still firmly associated in German usage today. Despite the frequent use of the French language in Germany at that time, other meanings ( magic , hornbeam ) were not adopted into German. The French play on words “Le charme du charme” (= the charm of the hornbeam) is therefore only accessible to those familiar with the French language.
