Transfix
/trænsˈfɪks/noun
To pierce through with a sharp object or to hold someone motionless with intense attention or awe.
Did you know?Its Latin roots are the same ones behind the idea of something being “fixed” in place, so the modern meaning of being spellbound is a linguistic echo of being pinned through and held still.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dheigʷ-
“to stick, fix, or fasten”
Latin
Latin
transfigere
“to pierce through, transfix”
Late Latin
Latin
transfixus
“pierced through; transfixed”
Middle English
English
transfixen
“to pierce through with a weapon”
16th Century
English
transfix
“to pierce through; later, to hold motionless in fascination”
Modern English
English
transfix
“to pierce through or to stun into stillness with intense attention or awe”