The word for today is…
mesmerise (verb):
1: to subject to mesmerism. Also : hypnotise
2: spellbind
Source : Merriam -Webster
Etymology : Experts can’t agree on whether Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) was a quack or a genius, but all concede that the Swabian physician’s name is the source of the word mesmerise. In his day, Mesmer was the toast of Paris, where he enjoyed the support of notables including Queen Marie Antoinette. He treated patients with therapeutic procedures (called, appropriately enough, mesmerism) involving what he claimed was a mysterious force termed animal magnetism. (Many believe that mesmerism was what we now call hypnotism). Accordingly, the verb mesmerise was first used to mean “to subject to mesmerism” before broadening to be synonymous with hypnotise, and later to mean “to amaze or captivate.”
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