Witchcraft

== Etymology ==
{{Further|Witch (word)}}
The word is over a thousand years old: [[Old English]] formed the compound {{Lang|ang|wiccecræft}} from {{Lang|ang|wicce}} ('witch') and {{Lang|ang|cræft}} ('craft').<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harper |first=Douglas |title=witchcraft (n.) |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=witchcraft&allowed_in_frame=0 |access-date=29 October 2013 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |archive-date=5 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105052512/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=witchcraft&allowed_in_frame=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> The masculine form was {{Lang|ang|wicca}} ('male sorcerer').<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home : Oxford English Dictionary |url=https://oed.com/start;jsessionid=5EF3CA6F4DB30EFC0E4768781B858944?authRejection=true&url=%2Fview%2FEntry%2F229574 |website=oed.com |access-date=2021-07-18 |archive-date=2021-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718192633/https://oed.com/start;jsessionid=5EF3CA6F4DB30EFC0E4768781B858944?authRejection=true&url=%2Fview%2FEntry%2F229574 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to the [[Oxford English Dictionary]], ''wicce'' and ''wicca'' were probably derived from the Old English verb {{Lang|ang|wiccian}}, meaning 'to practice witchcraft'.<ref>{{Cite OED|witch}}</ref> ''Wiccian'' has a cognate in [[Middle Low German]] {{Lang|gml|wicken}} (attested from the 13th century).  The further etymology of this word is problematic. It has no clear cognates in other [[Germanic languages]] outside of English and Low German, and there are numerous possibilities for the [[Indo-European root]] from which it may have derived.

Another Old English word for 'witch' was {{Lang|ang|hægtes}} or {{Lang|ang|hægtesse}}, which became the modern English word "[[hag]]" and is linked to the word "[[curse|hex]]". In most other Germanic languages, their word for 'witch' comes from the same root as these; for example [[German language|German]] ''Hexe'' and [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''heks''.<ref>{{cite web |title=hag (n.) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/hag |website=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]]}}</ref>

In colloquial modern [[English language|English]], the word ''witch'' is particularly used for women.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/witch|title=Definition of WITCH|website=www.merriam-webster.com|access-date=12 October 2023}}</ref> A male practitioner of magic or witchcraft is more commonly called a '[[Magic (supernatural)|wizard]]', or sometimes, 'warlock'. When the word ''witch'' is used to refer to a member of a neo-pagan tradition or religion (such as [[Wicca]]), it can refer to a person of any gender.{{cn|date=October 2023}}