Franz Anton Mesmer

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An Austrian doctor who developed mesmerism, an early form of hypnosis used to treat illness

proper noun
/frænts ˈæntən ˈmɛzmər/

: Franz Anton Mesmer

Many credit Franz Anton Mesmer with laying the foundations for modern hypnotism.

Examples

Franz Anton Mesmer believed that a magnetic fluid flowed through the human body.
The theories of Franz Anton Mesmer were both controversial and influential in medical history.
Did Franz Anton Mesmer really believe in animal magnetism?
The theories of Franz Anton Mesmer revolutionized the field of psychology.
Franz Anton Mesmer is recognized for introducing the concept of mesmerism, which paved the way for modern hypnosis.
The work of Franz Anton Mesmer significantly impacted early psychological practices and the treatment of patients.
In the late 18th century, Franz Anton Mesmer explored the effects of his hypnotic methods on various ailments.

Synonyms

Friedrich Anton Mesmer

vsFranz Anton Mesmer

9.6

An Austrian doctor who said he could cure people using animal magnetism and who influenced modern hypnosis

is the same individual but recorded under an alternative given name

Surface Forms

Franz Anton Mesmer main

Morphology

Franz + Anton + Mesmer

This is a full proper name referring to a specific historical individual; the constituent tokens are personal names with no compositional meaning that would yield 'Austrian physician' or 'developer of mesmerism.' Proper nouns are non‑compositional and language‑specific, so a B1 learner who only knows the name parts would not be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Franz Anton Mesmer was a doctor who in the 1700s used magnets and the idea of a 'magnetic fluid' to put people into a calm, trancelike state. Because his treatments looked like they put people in a kind of spell, his name became 'mesmerism' and the verb 'to mesmerize', which today means 'to hold someone's attention' or 'to hypnotize'.