Glamer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A magical illusion or spell that makes things seem other than they are ; to bewitch someone or cast an enchantment over them
2. An enchanted deception that alters how things look to the eye ; to put a person under a magic spell so they are charmed
3. A spell of magical deception that dazzles the senses ; to cast an enchantment over someone so that they are bewitched

Etymology: In medieval Europe, "grammar" meant learning in general, and especially learning in Latin, the language of scholarship. Because so few people could read, the educated were easily suspected of sorcery, so the word drifted toward occult knowledge and magic. In Scots, the spelling shifted into forms like "gramarye," and "glamer" is one of the older Scots spellings of the same word, meaning a spell or enchantment that makes things seem other than they are. English took the word from Scots, where it was spelled many ways, and "glamour" became the standard English spelling. The Scottish novelist Walter Scott, writing in the early nineteenth century, used the word in ways that helped spread it through English. Over time its meaning softened from a supernatural illusion to a charm or allure that makes a person or place seem more appealing than it really is.

Synonyms: glamour, enchantment, allure, spell