witch
n. countablen. a woman in stories who has magical powers and often wears a black hat. In modern times, some people also use this word to describe someone who follows a specific nature-based religion.
n. a woman thought to possess magical or supernatural powers, typically depicted in folklore as using spells or charms. In contemporary contexts, it may refer to a practitioner of Wicca or other neopagan traditions.
The children dressed as a witch for the party.
In many classic fairy tales, the hero must outsmart a clever witch to find the way home.
Historical accounts of the trials reveal how the label of witch was often weaponized against women who lived outside the strict social and religious norms of their communities.
The 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.
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.
Compare wick.
Chosen for its euphemistic rhyme.
Commonly used in literature and folklore; when referring to modern religious practitioners, it is often capitalized.