Ravishers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. One who seizes someone with intense desire or passion, often implying a coercive or violent act
2. a person who delights or captivates someone profoundly, creating strong emotions
3. an individual participating in an act of taking someone away forcefully or seductively against their will

Etymology: "Ravishers" is the plural of "ravisher," and the word is simply "ravish" with the agent suffix "-er" attached. The suffix itself has a long pedigree: it passed from Latin "-arius" through Old French "-ier" into Middle English "-er," and it ultimately reaches back to a Proto-Indo-European root, but the verb it attaches to is where the real story lies. "Ravish" came into English from Old French "ravir," meaning to seize or carry off by force, and that Old French verb descends from Latin "rapere," to snatch or plunder. The English verb first carried this literal sense of violent seizure, and only later took on the softer meaning of delighting or enrapturing someone. A "ravisher," then, is by origin one who snatches or carries away, and the older sense of seizure is what the word still preserves.

Synonyms: enchanters, captivators, seducers, charmer

Antonyms: repulsers, disgusters, detractors