Where does ravishing come from?

Ravishing begins with the Latin rapere, “to seize or carry off by force.” Via French, this verb ultimately formed such English words as ravenous, rape, rapid, ravage, and ravish.

Ravish is recorded in the early 1300s. While it could more generally mean “rob” or “plunder,” ravish was specifically used of violently “dragging a woman away,” often involving rape.

The “rape” and “plunder” ravish now sounds more obsolete, and the sense of the verb has softened. If you say you want to ravish someone today, it usually means you really want to have passionate, consensual sex with them.

Ravish also survives in ravishing, as in you look ravishing. This sense is found in the 1400s, originally of something that produced a strong emotion in a person (i.e., something that has really seized them). That’s how ravishing gets used for something “enchanting” or “beautiful.”