Ravishments

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Experiences or events causing intense joy or ecstasy ; violent acts of seizing or raping someone by force
2. Instances of extreme pleasure or rapture ; forcible attacks involving sexual assault
3. Occurrences of great emotional or sensory delight ; criminal acts of forcefully taking and violating a person

Etymology: Ravishments is simply the plural of "ravishment," and the story of the singular is a short one. It is formed from the verb "ravish" with the suffix "-ment," which English took from Old French "-ment," itself descended from Latin "-mentum," a suffix that turned verbs into nouns naming a result or an act. So a ravishment is, literally, the act of ravishing, or the state that results from it. The verb "ravish" shows the older sense more clearly. It came into English from Old French "ravir," meaning to seize or snatch away, and the earliest English uses carried that violent sense of carrying something off by force. Over the centuries the same verb softened toward the sense of carrying the mind or heart away, so that to be ravished came to mean being overwhelmed with delight. The noun followed that shift, and today "ravishments" names moments of intense joy, the emotional force of the verb's old violence turned inward.

Synonyms: enchantments, captivations