entrance
Does the entrance entrance visitors?
The sentence asks whether the doorway is also captivating to those who see it.
Meanings
a doorway, gateway, or other point of entry into a place
- The grand entrance of the hotel was lit by chandeliers.
- Use the side entrance after hours.
to fill with delight or wonder; to put into a trance-like state
- The magician entranced the audience for an hour.
- Children were entranced by the falling snow.
Word origin
Two senses with related Latin roots but different routes: the noun /ˈɛntrəns/ (a way in) is from Old French entrance, from entrer ('to enter'), from Latin intrāre. The verb /ɪnˈtrɑːns/ (to enchant) is built differently — from in- ('into') + 'trance' (a hypnotic state, from Old French transe, ultimately from Latin trānsīre 'to cross over'). The shared spelling is partly coincidence.
Fun fact
The verb 'entrance' (to enchant) is built from 'trance' — meaning 'to put into a trance.' The noun 'entrance' (a doorway) is built from 'enter.' The two share spelling because English spelling welds together words from different sources whenever they happen to look alike.