Infatuate
/ɪnˈfætʃuˌeɪt/noun
To make someone foolishly or obsessively fond of someone or something.
Did you know?Infatuate comes from Latin in- (“into”) + fatuus (“foolish”), so its oldest sense is basically a mental enchantment: to be driven into foolishness.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dʰeh₂-
“to put, place, set”
Latin
Latin
fatuus
“foolish, silly, dull-witted”
Late Latin
Latin
infatuare
“to make foolish, befool”
Middle French
Old French
infatuer
“to infatuate, make absurdly fond”
16th Century
English
infatuate
“to make foolish or to inspire foolish admiration”
Modern English
English
infatuate
“to cause someone to have an intense but short-lived passion or admiration”
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