Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
adjective
- extremely beautiful or attractive; enchanting; entrancing.
verb (used with object)
- to fill with strong emotion, especially joy.
- to seize and carry off by force.
- to carry off (a woman) by force.
- to rape (a woman).
adjective
- delightful; lovely; entrancing
verb (tr)
- (often passive) to give great delight to; enrapture
- to rape
- archaic to carry off by force
“act of plundering,” c.1300, verbal noun from ravish (v.).
mid-14c., “ravenous;” early 15c., “enchanting;” present participle adjective from ravish (v.). The figurative notion is of “carrying off from earth to heaven.” Related: Ravishingly.
c.1300, “to seize (someone) by violence, carry (a person, especially a woman) away,” from Old French raviss-, present participle stem of ravir “to seize, take away hastily,” from Vulgar Latin *rapire, from Latin rapere “to seize and carry off, carry away suddenly, hurry away” (see rapid). Meaning “to commit rape upon” is recorded from mid-15c. Related: Ravished; ravishing.