/wɪt͡ʃ/
OriginThe noun is from Middle English wicche, from Old English wiċċe (“witch (female), sorceress”) and wiċċa (“witch (male), sorcerer, warlock”), deverbative from wiċċian (“to practice sorcery”), from Proto-Germanic *wikkōną (compare West Frisian wikje, wikke (“to foretell, warn”), German Low German wicken (“to soothsay”), Dutch wikken, wichelen (“to dowse, divine”)), from Proto-Indo-European *wik-néh₂-, derivation of *weyk- (“to consecrate; separate”); akin to Latin victima (“sacrificial victim”), Lithuanian viẽkas (“life-force”), Sanskrit विनक्ति (vinákti, “to set apart, 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.
“He cannot abide the old woman of Brentford; he swears she's a witch.”
“It was easy to understand that they were witches, who had turned themselves into ravens.”
“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 ”
- A woman 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.”
“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.”
- One who exercises more-than-common power of attraction; a charming or bewitching person.
- One given to mischief, especially a woman or child.
- A certain curve of the third order, described by Maria Agnesi under the name versiera.
- A storm petrel.
- Glyptocephalus cynoglossus, the witch flounder or Torbay sole, found in the North Atlantic.
- Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis (megrim), found in the North Atlantic.
- Arnoglossus scapha, found near New Zealand.
- An Indomalayan butterfly, of Araotes lapithis, of the family Lycaenidae.
- A cone of paper which is placed in a vessel of lard or other fat and used as a taper.
- euphemisticA bitch.
- intransitiveTo 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.”
“Nothing would make him shut up until I brought my dogwood stick into his office and witched for water.”
“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.”
- intransitive, obsoleteTo practise witchcraft.
- transitiveTo bewitch.
“She has witched the Queen's womb long ago, and witched the whole harvest.”
“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 ha”
““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.””
- abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, historicalAcronym of Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell.
“Late that year the New York Rat covered a feminist demonstration staged by the radical group WITCH (Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell), whose marchers exorcised money from the finan”
Formswitches(plural) · witches(present, singular, third-person) · witching(participle, present) · witched(participle, past) · witched(past) · W.I.T.C.H.(alternative)