Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

charisma

/kəˈɹɪzmə/ noun

First recorded: 1875 Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about charisma at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A gift or power of leadership or authority. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
The leader has his charisma.
The capacity to inspire devotion or enthusiasm; personal charm.
the charisma of a popular actor
A gift or power bestowed upon a person by the Holy Spirit; a grace.

Origin

From Ancient Greek χᾰ́ρῐσμᾰ (khắrĭsmă, “grace, favour, gift”), from χᾰρῐ́ζομαι (khărĭ́zomai, “to show favor”), from χᾰ́ρῐς (khắrĭs, “grace”), from the same root χαρ- (khar-) as χαίρω (khaírō, “to be happy”). Doublet of charism. First attested in 1875. Outside of theology, as early as 1930, charisma was found in a translation of a book written by German sociologist Max Weber, which OED and Etymonline regards as a semantic loan from German Charisma, denoting the special ability of certain leaders to inspire devotion (sense 1). By the 1940s and more clearly in the 1950s, the term was used more loosely to refer to personal charm in general (sense 1.1).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word