Source etymology 1
Original entry ↗A person (now usually particularly a woman) who uses magical or supernatural powers to influence or predict events, particularly one with malicious motives. · A person of any gender who harmfully employs magical power (especially innate rather than ritual) · A person who follows Wicca or similar New Age pagan beliefs. · An ugly or unpleasant woman.
To dowse for water.
Etymology tree Old English wiċċe Proto-Germanic *wikkōną Proto-West Germanic *wikkōn Proto-Indo-European *-ō Proto-Germanic *-ô Proto-West Germanic *-ō Proto-West Germanic *wikkō Old English wiċċa Middle English wicche English witch 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. The mathematical curve derives from a translation by John Colson of the Italian versiera, from a confusion with versoria (“rope”) and avversaria (“witch”).
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Root classification mention*weyk-ine-pro
- Inherited-form mentionwiccheenm
- Inherited-form mentionwiċċeang · (female) witch; sorceress
- Derivation mention*wikkōnągem-pro
- Cognate mentionwikjefy
- Cognate mentionwikkennl
- Derivation mention*wik-néh₂-ine-pro
- Cognate mentionvictimala · sacrificial victim
- Cognate mentionviekaslt · life-force
- Cognate mentionवि॒नक्ति॑sa · to set apart; to separate out
- Derivation mentionversierait
This page abbreviates 8 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "wp",
"args": {
"1": "+ (word)"
},
"expansion": ""
},
{
"name": "etymon",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:wicche",
"tree": "1"
},
"expansion": "Etymology tree\nOld English wiċċe\nProto-Germanic *wikkōną\nProto-West Germanic *wikkōn\nProto-Indo-European *-ō\nProto-Germanic *-ô\nProto-West Germanic *-ō\nProto-West Germanic *wikkō\nOld English wiċċa\nMiddle English wicche\nEnglish witch\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*wikkōn\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"agent noun\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"agent noun\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-ō\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-ô\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-ō\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*wikkō\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"wiċċa\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"wicche\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"witch\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"witch\">"
},
{
"name": "root",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*weyk-",
"id": "separate"
},
"expansion": ""
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "wicche"
},
"expansion": "Middle English wicche"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "wiċċe",
"t": "(female) witch; sorceress"
},
"expansion": "Old English wiċċe (“(female) witch; sorceress”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*wikkōną"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *wikkōną"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fy",
"2": "wikje"
},
"expansion": "West Frisian wikje"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nds-de",
"2": "wicken",
"t": "to soothsay"
},
"expansion": "German Low German wicken (“to soothsay”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "wikken"
},
"expansion": "Dutch wikken"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*wik-néh₂-"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *wik-néh₂-"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "la",
"2": "victima",
"t": "sacrificial victim"
},
"expansion": "Latin victima (“sacrificial victim”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "lt",
"2": "viekas",
"3": "viẽkas",
"t": "life-force"
},
"expansion": "Lithuanian viẽkas (“life-force”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "sa",
"2": "वि॒नक्ति॑",
"t": "to set apart; to separate out"
},
"expansion": "Sanskrit वि॒नक्ति॑ (vinákti, “to set apart; to separate out”)"
},
{
"name": "sup",
"args": {
"1": "2"
},
"expansion": "²"
},
{
"name": "smallcaps",
"args": {
"1": "witch"
},
"expansion": "witch"
},
{
"name": "sup",
"args": {
"1": "3"
},
"expansion": "³"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "it",
"3": "versiera"
},
"expansion": "Italian versiera"
},
{
"name": "etymon",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:wicche",
"tree": "1"
},
"expansion": "Etymology tree\nOld English wiċċe\nProto-Germanic *wikkōną\nProto-West Germanic *wikkōn\nProto-Indo-European *-ō\nProto-Germanic *-ô\nProto-West Germanic *-ō\nProto-West Germanic *wikkō\nOld English wiċċa\nMiddle English wicche\nEnglish witch"
}
],
"links": [
[
"wiċċe",
"wicce#Old_English"
],
[
"*wikkōną",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wikkōną"
],
[
"*wikkōn",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/wikkōn"
],
[
"*-ō",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-ō"
],
[
"*-ô",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-ô#Proto-Germanic:_agent_noun"
],
[
"*-ō",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/-ō#Proto-West_Germanic:_agent_noun"
],
[
"*wikkō",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/wikkō"
],
[
"wiċċa",
"wicca#Old_English"
],
[
"wicche",
"wicche#Middle_English"
],
[
"wicche",
"wicche#Middle_English"
],
[
"wiċċe",
"wicce#Old_English"
],
[
"wiċċa",
"wicca#Old_English"
],
[
"wiċċian",
"wiccian#Old_English"
],
[
"*wikkōną",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wikkōną"
],
[
"wikje",
"wikje#West_Frisian"
],
[
"wikke",
"wikke#West_Frisian"
],
[
"wicken",
"wicken#Low_German"
],
[
"wikken",
"wikken#Dutch"
],
[
"wichelen",
"wichelen#Dutch"
],
[
"*wik-néh₂-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wik-néh₂-"
],
[
"*weyk-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/weyk-"
],
[
"victima",
"victima#Latin"
],
[
"viẽkas",
"viekas#Lithuanian"
],
[
"वि॒नक्ति॑",
"विनक्ति#Sanskrit"
],
[
"wicked",
"wicked#English"
],
[
"versiera",
"versiera#Italian"
],
[
"versoria",
"versoria#Italian"
],
[
"avversaria",
"avversaria#Italian"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "noun",
"glosses": [
"A person (now usually particularly a woman) who uses magical or supernatural powers to influence or predict events, particularly one with malicious motives.",
"A person of any gender who harmfully employs magical power (especially innate rather than ritual)",
"A person who follows Wicca or similar New Age pagan beliefs.",
"An ugly or unpleasant woman."
],
"tags": [
"derogatory",
"figuratively"
],
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"sourceRecordOrdinal": 157827
},
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To dowse for water."
],
"tags": [
"intransitive"
],
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"sourceRecordOrdinal": 157828
}
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"omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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"lexicalRecords": 0,
"lexicalSenses": 8,
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}
}