charm

1 [chahrm]
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.
00:10
Charm is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
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
charm·ed·ly [chahr-mid-lee] , adverb
charm·er, noun
charm·less, adjective
charm·less·ly, adverb

Synonyms
1. attractiveness, allurement. 4. bauble. 5. talisman. 6. enchantment, spell. 8. spell. 10. fascinate, captivate, entrance, enrapture, ravish; allure, bewitch.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

charm

2 [chahrm]
noun British Dialect.
blended singing of birds, children, etc.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English cherm(e), Old English cerm, ceorm, variant of ci(e)rm outcry

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
charm1 (tʃɑːm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
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
 
—vb
9.  to attract or fascinate; delight greatly
10.  to cast a magic spell on
11.  to protect, influence, or heal, supposedly by magic
12.  (tr) to influence or obtain by personal charm: he charmed them into believing him
 
[C13: from Old French charme, from Latin carmen song, incantation, from canere to sing]

charm2 (tʃɑːm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
dialect (Southwest English) a loud noise, as of a number of people chattering or of birds singing
 
[C16: variant of chirm]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

charm
c.1300, from O.Fr. charme "incantation," from L. carmen "song, verse, enchantment," from canere "to sing" (see chant), with dissimilation of -n- to -r- before -m-. The notion is of chanting or reciting verses of magical power. Sense of "pleasing quality" first recorded 1598.
Meaning "small trinket fastened to a watch-chain, etc." first recorded 1865.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
charm   (chärm)  Pronunciation Key 

  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.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

CHARM definition

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)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
CHARM
Coupled Hydrosphere—Atmosphere Research Model
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

charm

In addition to the idioms beginning with charm, also see (charm the) pants off; work like a charm.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

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."

Learn more about charm with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
Given its charm and allure, the polar bear's possible demise has struck a chord
  with people over the world.
No other account of the old district school approaches this one in charm.
There is less prodigality of words and of figures than in some earlier work,
  and the charm is that of fitness rather than form.
Her natural instinct is to charm, to disarm, to retreat from harm.
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