GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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1.       
   Mesmerism , n. [From Mesmer, who first brought it into notice at Vienna, about 1775: cf. F. mesmérisme.] An earlier name for hypnosis or hypnotism, the art of inducing an extraordinary or abnormal state of the nervous system, in which the actor claims to control the actions, and communicate directly with the mind, of the recipient. It is believed to be a state between sleep and wakefulness, in which a person is more susceptible to suggestion than when awake. See Animal magnetism, under Magnetism.
   1913 Webster