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charism

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cha⋅ris⋅ma

  [kuh-riz-muh]
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–noun, plural -ma⋅ta  [-muh-tuh] .
1. Theology. a divinely conferred gift or power.
2. a spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people.
3. the special virtue of an office, function, position, etc., that confers or is thought to confer on the person holding it an unusual ability for leadership, worthiness of veneration, or the like.
Also, char⋅ism  [kar-iz-uhm] .

Origin:
1635–45; < LL < Gk, equiv. to char- (base of cháris favor, charízesthai to favor; akin to yearn, exhort ) + -isma -ism

Synonyms:
2. charm, magnetism, presence.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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char·ism   (kār'ĭz'əm)   
n.   Christianity
Charisma.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

charisma [(kuh-riz-muh)]

Extraordinary power and appeal of personality; natural ability to inspire a large following.

Note: Political leaders such as John F. Kennedy, religious leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., and entertainment figures such as Greta Garbo have all been described as charismatic.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

charisma 
c.1930, from Ger., used by Max Weber (1864-1920) in "Wirtschaft u. Gesellschaft" (1922) for "gift or power of leadership or authority," from Gk. kharisma "favor, divine gift," from kharizesthai "to show favor to," from charis "grace, beauty, kindness," related to chairein "to rejoice at," from PIE base *gher- "to desire, like." More mundane sense of "personal charm" first recorded 1959. Charismatic (1970) Christian movement, which believes in divine gifts of healing, etc., reflects the older sense of the word (which was in Eng. as charism, pl. charismata, since c.1641).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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