Witch (word)

Witch, from the Old English wiċċe (the masculine warlock, from wærloga, is of different etymology), is a term rooted in European folklore and superstition for a practitioner of witchcraft, magic or sorcery.

The Brothers Grimm's Deutsches Wörterbuch connects the "Ingvaeonic word" *wikkōn with Gothic weihs 'sacred' (Proto-Indo European (PIE) *weik- 'to separate, to divide', probably via early Germanic practices of cleromancy such as those reported by Tacitus).

[2][3][4] R. Lühr connects wigol 'prophetic, mantic', wīglian 'to practice divination' (Middle Low German wichelen 'bewitch', wicker 'soothsayer') and suggests Proto-Germanic *wigōn, geminated (c.f.

In the homilies of the Old English grammarian Ælfric, dating to the late 10th century we find: Ne sceal se cristena befrinan tha fulan wiccan be his gesundfulnysse.

[10] In Old English glossaries the words wicce and wicca are used to gloss such Latin terms as augur,[11] hariolus, conjector, and pythonyssa, all of which mean 'diviner, soothsayer'.

In medieval and early modern Europe, there were people who provided services such as thwarting witchcraft, curing bewitchment, healing, divination, fortune-telling, finding lost or stolen goods, and love magic.

[15] Emma Wilby says folk magicians in Europe were viewed ambivalently by communities, and were considered as capable of harming as of healing,[16] which could lead to them being accused as being "witches" in the negative sense.

[20] Johannes Nider and other 15th century writers used the Latin term maleficus to mean witch—a person who performed maleficium, harmful acts of sorcery, against others.