witch

Etymology 1

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”). In its informal use as an insult for unpleasant women, sometimes parsed in the United States as a blend of white + bitch, with use restricted to that race. Possibly related to wicked; see that entry for more. The verb is from the noun.

noun

1. A person who practices witchcraft.
   1. (now usually particularly) A woman who is learned in and actively practices witchcraft.
      It was easy to understand that they were witches, who had turned themselves into ravens. 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 186
      However, the word "witch" came to be applied almost exclusively to women who were believed to achieve their power by making a blood pact with the Devil, sealed with their blood. They were usually old and ugly, and for this reason many unfortunate old ladies, whose only crimes were loneliness and a lack of beauty, went to the stake. 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 106
2. (figurative, derogatory) An ugly or unpleasant woman.
   I hate that old witch.
3. One who exercises more-than-common power of attraction; a charming or bewitching person.
4. One given to mischief, especially a woman or child.
5. (geometry) A certain curve of the third order, described by Maria Agnesi under the name versiera.
6. The storm petrel.
7. Any of a number of flatfish:
   1. Glyptocephalus cynoglossus (Torbay sole), found in the North Atlantic.
   2. Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis (megrim), found in the North Atlantic.
   3. Arnoglossus scapha, found near New Zealand.
8. The Indomalayan butterfly Araotes lapithis, of the family Lycaenidae.

verb

1. (intransitive) To dowse for water.
   And I told him there's a vein down there, I know 'caus I used to—uh, I went out here and witched one for this house, at the corner. 1964, Hilda E. Webb, Water Witching and Other Folk Talents in the Neighborhood of Bloomington, Indiana
   Nothing would make him shut up until I brought my dogwood stick into his office and witched for water. 2006, Helen Ayers, Appalachian Daughter: The Exodus of the Mountaineers from Appalachia
   Eventually, Don and Jim built nice big houses on their lots. We enjoyed watching them being built. I remember Don's builder came out and “witched” for a well. 2010, C.J. Ott, True Stories: Memories, Musings, Odds and Ends

Etymology 2

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.

verb

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To practise witchcraft.
2. (transitive) To bewitch.
   She has witched the Queen's womb long ago, and witched the whole harvest. 1900, Gilbert Murray, Andromache: A Play in Three Acts
   The little man was seething and shaking, near collapse with fear and anger. “Tell 'em, Alvy.” “A tenday ago, Will came to the Cockatoo acting crazy, so scared he'd pissed hisself. Said the sorcerer had found him in the stables and witched him.” 2012, Carol Berg, The Daemon Prism: A Novel of the Collegia Magica, Penguin
   “Maybe the Mormonhater witched him. There's lot of stories being told around about that old man.” “Them's lies,” denied South Boy hotly. “He may have scared Havek, but he never witched him.” 2014, Charles L. McNichols, Crazy Weather, Counterpoint Press
   Sometime in 1945 he faced an opponent who apparently “witched” him, causing facial paralysis and dizzy spells that rendered him bedridden. An old Indian doctor came to his bedside, looked into his eyes, and proclaimed that he had been witched by his Seminole adversary. 2017, Benjamin R. Kracht, Kiowa Belief and Ritual, U of Nebraska Press, page 134

Etymology 3

Compare wick.

noun

1. A cone of paper which is placed in a vessel of lard or other fat and used as a taper.