Rapt
/ræpt/noun
Deeply fascinated or absorbed; also, carried off or transported.
Did you know?Rapt comes from Latin *raptus*, from *rapere* meaning “to seize, snatch, carry off,” the same root behind *rape*, *raptor*, and *rapacious*—all words built around forceful taking.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*reh₁p-
“to snatch, seize”
Latin
Latin
rapere
“to seize, snatch, carry off”
Latin
Latin
raptus
“a carrying off; seized, transported”
Late Latin / Old French
Latin / Old French
rapt
“carried away, seized; later, enraptured”
Middle English
English
rapt
“carried off in spirit; entranced, absorbed”
Modern English
English
rapt
“deeply fascinated or absorbed”