{"id":7256,"date":"2026-02-15T22:36:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T22:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/?p=7256"},"modified":"2026-02-15T22:42:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T22:42:53","slug":"word-of-the-day-enchanter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/2026\/02\/15\/word-of-the-day-enchanter\/","title":{"rendered":"Word of the Day: Enchanter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today\u2019s word of the day, as we continue the series that began with Jim Butcher\u2019s warlock<\/em>, is enchanter<\/em>. Pronounced \/ \u025bn\u02c8t\u0283\u00e6n t\u0259r \/ or \/ \u025bn\u02c8t\u0283\u0251n t\u0259r \/, with the emphasis on the second syllable, enchanter refers to \u201ca person who enchants or delights\u201d or \u201ca magician; sorcerer\u201d (https:\/\/www.dictionary.com\/browse\/enchanter<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word first appears in English \u201cc. 1300, enchauntour<\/em>, agent noun from enchant<\/strong><\/a>, or from Old French enchanteor \u2018<\/em>magician; singer; mountebank,\u2019 from Latin incantatory<\/em>\u201d (https:\/\/www.etymonline.com\/search?q=enchanter<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enchant<\/em> first appears in the \u201clate 14c., literal (\u2018practice sorcery or witchcraft on\u2019) and figurative (\u2018delight in a high degree, charm, fascinate\u2019), from Old French enchanter \u2018<\/em>bewitch, charm, cast a spell\u2019 (12c.), from Latin incantare \u2018<\/em>to enchant, fix a spell upon,\u2019 from in- \u2018<\/em>upon, into\u2019 (from PIE root *en<\/strong><\/a> \u2018in\u2019) + cantare \u2018<\/em>to sing\u2019 (from PIE root *kan-<\/strong><\/a> \u2018to sing\u2019). Or perhaps it is a back-formation from enchantment<\/strong><\/a>. For sense evolution, compare German besprechen \u2018<\/em>to charm,\u2019 from sprechen \u2018<\/em>to speak\u2019\u201d (https:\/\/www.etymonline.com\/word\/enchant<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enchantment appears \u201cc. 1300, enchauntement<\/em>, \u2018act of magic or witchcraft; use of magic; magic power,\u2019 from Old French encantement \u2018<\/em>magical spell; song, concert, chorus,\u2019 from enchanter \u2018<\/em>bewitch, charm,\u2019 from Latin incantare \u2018<\/em>enchant, cast a (magic) spell upon,\u2019 from in- \u2018<\/em>upon, into\u2019 (from PIE root *en<\/strong><\/a> \u2018in\u2019) + cantare \u2018<\/em>to sing\u2019 (from PIE root *kan-<\/strong><\/a> \u2018to sing\u2019). Figurative sense of \u2018allurement\u2019 is from 1670s. Compare Old English galdor \u2018<\/em>song,\u2019 also \u2018spell, enchantment,\u2019 from galan \u2018<\/em>to sing,\u2019 which also is the source of the second element in nightingale<\/em>\u201d (https:\/\/www.etymonline.com\/word\/enchantment<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was in high school, I was in the Glee Club. As a part of that we had a smaller group that would go out and perform a capella<\/em> (without the accompaniment of instruments, not even a piano). This group was called Les Chantours, The Singers. So the magical work of the enchanter must have involved singing, or perhaps chanting, which is a form of singing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of enchanters, in this month 49 years ago, Monty Python and the Holy Grail<\/em> had its first appearance on television, on the CBS Late Movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMonty Python<\/strong>, also known as the Pythons<\/strong>, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group initially came to prominence in the UK for the sketch comedy television series Monty Python’s Flying Circus<\/em>, which aired on the BBC from 1969 to 1974. Their work then developed into a larger collection that included live shows, films, albums, books, and musicals; their influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles’ influence on music\u201d (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Monty_Python<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pythons compiled some of their sketches from television into a first movie, entitled And Now for Something Completely Different<\/em>, in 1971. The Holy Grail was, then, their first movie with an original story, although there is certainly an element of sketch comedy in the film. It also featured the surreal quality that one finds in the television series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAccording to Gilliam, the Pythons turned to rock bands like Pink Floyd<\/a> and Led Zeppelin<\/a> for financing because no studio would fund the film, and the rock stars saw it as \u2018a good tax write-off\u2019 because the top rate of UK income tax<\/a> was \u2018as high as 90%\u2019 at the time. Idle and Gilliam had previously mentioned that Elton John<\/a> also contributed to the financing of the film. A 2021 tweet by Eric Idlerevealed that the entire original budget of \u00a3175,350 (about $410,000 in 1974) was provided by eight investors: Led Zeppelin (\u00a331,500), Pink Floyd (\u00a321,000), Jethro Tull’s<\/a> Ian Anderson<\/a> (\u00a36300), Holy Grail’<\/em>s co-producer Michael White<\/a> (\u00a378,750), Heartaches (a cricket team founded by lyricist Tim Rice<\/a>) (\u00a35,250), and three record companies: Island Records<\/a> (\u00a321,000), Chrysalis Records<\/a> (\u00a36,300), and Charisma Records<\/a> (\u00a35,250), the record label that had released Python’s early comedy albums\u201d (ibid.). It\u2019s actually a bit funny how the big studios missed about as the movie turned out to be one of the most popular films ever made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The movie was made on a very small budget. The small budget dictated certain aspects of the production, such as the fact that it was filmed almost entirely in Scotland, \u201cparticularly around Doune Castle, Glen Coe, and the privately owned Castle Stalker. The many castles seen throughout the film were mainly either Doune Castle shot from different angles or hanging miniatures\u201d (ibid.). John Cleese expressed disappointment with the film\u2019s ending. \u201c\u2019The ending annoys me the most…It ends the way it does because we couldn’t think of any other way\u2019. However, scripts for the film and notebooks that are among Michael Palin’s private archive, which he donated to the British Library in 2017, do document at least one alternative ending that the troupe considered: \u2018a battle between the knights of Camelot, the French, and the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog\u2019. Due to the film’s small production budget, that idea for a \u2018much pricier option\u2019 was discarded by the Pythons in favour of the ending with \u2018King Arthur getting arrested\u2019, which Palin deemed \u2018cheaper\u2019 and \u2018funnier\u2019\u201d (ibid.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But one of the funniest stories about the filming of Monty Python and the Holy Grail<\/em> is probably not true. The story goes like this: there\u2019s a scene in which King Arthur and his knights, searching for the Holy Grail, seek advice from an enchanter. When they encounter him (played by John Cleese), he is displaying his skill with fireworks and explosions. Then there is this exchange:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arthur: \u201cBy what name are you known ?\u201d
Tim: \u201cThere are some who call me…Tim\u201d
Arthur: \u201cGreetings, Tim, the enchanter.\u201d
https:\/\/movies.stackexchange.com\/questions\/106466\/was-tim-the-enchanter-an-ad-libbed-name<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story is the Cleese forget the name, which was supposedly some long Welsh-sounding name, and in a moment of panicked improvisation, he came up with \u201cTim.\u201d Then Graham Chapman, playing Arthur, went with it, as any good improv artist will do (always say, \u201cYes, and\u2026\u201d). But why didn\u2019t they reshoot the scene? Because, of course, they were on a tight budget, so they had to keep the improv. Sadly, Cleese himself denied the story, and other people in the industry have said that John Cleese just wasn\u2019t the kind of actor who would improv anything. Furthermore, copies of the script have shown that \u201cTim\u201d was indeed the original name. The hesitation before the name was not improv, just comedic timing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, it\u2019s a great story, and it makes Tim one of the most memorable names ever for an enchanter. If you have never seen the movie, it\u2019s worth your time, especially if you have a perverse sense of humor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s image is of John Cleese playing the Enchanter Tim in Monty Python and the Holy Grail<\/em> (https:\/\/fancaps.net\/movies\/Image.php?imageid=3414293<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s word of the day, as we continue the series that began with Jim Butcher\u2019s warlock, is enchanter. Pronounced \/ \u025bn\u02c8t\u0283\u00e6n t\u0259r \/ or \/ \u025bn\u02c8t\u0283\u0251n t\u0259r \/, with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[238,947,395,284,946],"class_list":["post-7256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-word-of-the-day","tag-dictionary","tag-enchanter","tag-etymology","tag-linguistics","tag-monty-python-and-the-holy-grail","clearfix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7256"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7258,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7256\/revisions\/7258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}