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sortilège

spell, charm, enchantment

noun sor-tee-LEZH Rare
Arts & Culture Traditions

Usage Note

Sortilège comes from sort ('fate, spell') and evokes the world of witchcraft and magic. It is more literary and archaic than sort alone; jeter un sortilège means 'to cast a spell'. The word is masculine despite ending in -e. In contemporary French it appears mostly in fantasy literature, film, and games.

Examples

"La sorcière a lancé un sortilège."

Natural Translation

The witch cast a spell.

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