Witch

Pronunciation

• enPR: wÄ­ch, IPA: /wɪtʃ/
• Rhymes: -ɪtʃ
• Homophones: which in accents with the wine-whine merger, wich, wych

From Middle English wicche, from Old English wiċċe ("sorceress, witch") and wicca ("witch, sorcerer, warlock"), from Proto-Germanic *wikjô ("necromancer, waker of the dead") (compare West Frisian wikke ("witch"), Low German wikken, wicken ("to use witchcraft"), Dutch wichelen ("to foresay"), Old High German wīhan ("to consecrate"), Old English wiġle ("divination")), from Proto-Indo-European *weik- 'to choose, sacrifice, conjure'; akin to Latin victima ("sacrificial victim"), Lithuanian viekas ("life-force"), Sanskrit विनक्ति (vinákti, "to sift, separate out").

Full definition of witch

Noun

1. A person who practices witchcraft; specifically:
1. (archaic outside dialects and Wicca) A man who practices witchcraft.
• 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book I.8:And som of hem lough Merlin to scorne, as kyng Lot, and mo other called hym a wytche.
• unknown date Wyclif Bible (Acts viii. 9)There was a man in that city whose name was Simon, a witch.
2. A woman who is learned in and actively practices witchcraft.
• unknown date Shakespeare:He cannot abide the old woman of Brentford; he swears she's a witch.
3. (Wicca) A Wiccan.
4. (derogatory) An ugly or unpleasant woman.I hate that old witch.
5. One who exercises more-than-common power of attraction; a charming or bewitching person.
6. One given to mischief, especially a woman or child.
7. (geometry) A certain curve of the third order, described by Maria Agnesi under the name versiera.
8. The stormy petrel.
9. Any of a number of flatfish:
1. (Torbay sole), found in the North Atlantic.
2. (megrim), found in the North Atlantic.
3. , found near New Zealand

Synonyms

• (female magic user) wizardess, sorceress
• (male magic user) wizard, sorcerer, warlock
• (an ugly or unpleasant woman) See ,

Derived terms

Verb

1. (obsolete) To practise witchcraft'It approaches the witching hour'.
2. To bewitch
3. To dowse for water

Derived terms

• witcher

Compare wick.

Noun

1. A cone of paper which is placed in a vessel of lard or other fat and used as a taper.