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35,981 English word records · 45,491 etymology sections in this online subset
PARTIAL ENGLISH COVERAGE · FULL CORPUS REMAINS LOCAL4 source sections across 1 headword matching “Witch”. These are separate from the reviewed results below.
witchEnglish (en) · Etymology 1Source text
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”).
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗witchEnglish (en) · Etymology 2Source text
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.
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗witchEnglish (en) · Etymology 3Source text
Compare wick.
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗witchEnglish (en) · Etymology 4Source text
Chosen for its euphemistic rhyme.
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗INDEPENDENT SOURCE LIBRARY
More sources for this spelling
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Chambers (1908)
1908- WitchEnglish · e-38700-9481
Witch, wich, n. a woman regarded as having supernatural or magical power and knowledge through compact with the devil or some minor evil spirit: a hag, crone: (coll.) a fascinating young girl: (Shak.) a wizard.—v.t. to b
Read the full source record → - WitchEnglish · e-38700-9482
Witch, Witch-elm, wich, wich′-elm, n. the common wild elm—also Witch′-hā′zel.—n. Witch′en, the mountain-ash or rowan. [A.S. wice, the service-tree—wícan, to bend.]
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