ravish

 
Pronunciation: /ˈravɪʃ/

verb

[with object]
  • 1 archaic seize and carry off (someone) by force: there is no assurance that her infant child will not be ravished from her breast
  • dated (of a man) rape (a woman): an angry father who suspects that his daughter has been ravished
  • 2 literary fill (someone) with intense delight; enrapture: ravished by a sunny afternoon, she had agreed without even thinking

Derivatives

ravisher

noun

ravishment

noun

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French raviss-, lengthened stem of ravir, from an alteration of Latin rapere 'seize'