The noun is from Middle English wicche, from Old English wiċċe (“(female) witch; sorceress”) and wiċċa (“(male) witch; sorcerer; warlock”), deverbative from wiċċian (“to practice sorcery”), from Proto-Germanic *wikkōną (compare West Frisian wikje, wikke (“to foretell; to warn”), German Low German wicken (“to soothsay”), Dutch wikken, wichelen (“to dowse; to divine”)), from Proto-Indo-European *wik-néh₂-, derivation of *weyk- (“to consecrate; to separate”); akin to Latin victima (“sacrificial victim”), Lithuanian viẽkas (“life-force”), Sanskrit वि॒नक्ति॑ (vinákti, “to set apart; to separate out”). Possibly related to wicked; see that entry for more. The verb derives from the noun.
A person (now usually particularly a woman) who uses magical or similar supernatural powers to influence or predict events, particularly one with malicious motives.
He cannot abide the old woman of Brentford; he swears she's a witch.c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:
It was easy to understand that they were witches, who had turned themselves into ravens.1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 186:
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However, the word "witch" came to be applied almost exclusively to women who were believed to achieve their power by making a blood pact with the Devil, sealed with their blood. They were usually old and ugly, and for this reason many unfortunate old ladies, whose only crimes were loneliness and a lack of beauty, went to the stake.1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 106:
Recently in Sydney we met a male witch who claimed that witchcraft was his full-time occupation.1965, Attila Zohar, Kings Cross Black Magic, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 69:
Several of the Leechbook recipes would have done credit to the witches in Macbeth.1999, Robert Lacey, Danny Danziger, The Year 1000: What life was like at the turn of The First Millennium, London: Abacus, published 2000, page 127:
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A person who follows Wicca or similar New Age pagan beliefs.
To be considered a Witch of a particular tradition you will have to be initiated into that tradition by someone else within that tradition, after following their specific program of study.2013 November 8, Edain McCoy, If You Want to be a Witch: A Practical Introduction to the Craft, Llewellyn Worldwide, →ISBN:
For many neopagan witch traditions the moon is seen as both a symbol of the Goddess and of the witch's power, symbolically, and the belief is that the full moon is the best time for all acts of magic.2019 March 29, Trevor Greenfield, Pagan Portals - What is Modern Witchcraft?: Contemporary Developments in the Ancient Craft, John Hunt Publishing, →ISBN:
The noun is from Middle English wicche, from Old English wiċċe (“(female) witch; sorceress”) and wiċċa (“(male) witch; sorcerer; warlock”), deverbative from wiċċian (“to practice sorcery”), from Proto-Germanic *wikkōną (compare West Frisian wikje, wikke (“to foretell; to warn”), German Low German wicken (“to soothsay”), Dutch wikken, wichelen (“to dowse; to divine”)), from Proto-Indo-European *wik-néh₂-, derivation of *weyk- (“to consecrate; to separate”); akin to Latin victima (“sacrificial victim”), Lithuanian viẽkas (“life-force”), Sanskrit वि॒नक्ति॑ (vinákti, “to set apart; to separate out”). Possibly related to wicked; see that entry for more. The verb derives from the noun.
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To dowse for water.
And I told him there's a vein down there, I know 'caus I used to—uh, I went out here and witched one for this house, at the corner.1964, Hilda E. Webb, Water Witching and Other Folk Talents in the Neighborhood of Bloomington, Indiana:
Nothing would make him shut up until I brought my dogwood stick into his office and witched for water.2006, Helen Ayers, Appalachian Daughter: The Exodus of the Mountaineers from Appalachia:
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Eventually, Don and Jim built nice big houses on their lots. We enjoyed watching them being built. I remember Don's builder came out and “witched” for a well.2010, C.J. Ott, True Stories: Memories, Musings, Odds and Ends:
Etymology From Middle English wicchen, from Old English wiċċian, from Proto-Germanic *wikkōną, from Proto-Indo-European *wik-néh₂-, derivation of *weyk-. In the senses arising in Middle English and later probably aphetic from bewitch.
She has witched the Queen's womb long ago, and witched the whole harvest.1900, Gilbert Murray, Andromache: A Play in Three Acts:
The little man was seething and shaking, near collapse with fear and anger. “Tell 'em, Alvy.” “A tenday ago, Will came to the Cockatoo acting crazy, so scared he'd pissed hisself. Said the sorcerer had found him in the stables and witched him.”2012, Carol Berg, The Daemon Prism: A Novel of the Collegia Magica, Penguin, →ISBN:
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“Maybe the Mormonhater witched him. There's lot of stories being told around about that old man.” “Them's lies,” denied South Boy hotly. “He may have scared Havek, but he never witched him.”2014, Charles L. McNichols, Crazy Weather, Counterpoint Press, →ISBN:
Sometime in 1945 he faced an opponent who apparently “witched” him, causing facial paralysis and dizzy spells that rendered him bedridden. An old Indian doctor came to his bedside, looked into his eyes, and proclaimed that he had been witched by his Seminole adversary.2017, Benjamin R. Kracht, Kiowa Belief and Ritual, U of Nebraska Press, →ISBN, page 134:
witch
noun
Etymology Compare wick.
1
A cone of paper which is placed in a vessel of lard or other fat and used as a taper.