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Added 1 October 2026

witch

/wɪt͡ʃ/ noun

In Latin: magus, maga, maleficus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about witch at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A female sorcerer or magician.
A being (usually female) imagined to have special powers derived from the devil.
A believer in Wicca.

verb

Cast a spell over someone or something; put a hex on someone or something.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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