witch

The word “witch” means a person, especially in folklore, believed to have magical powers, particularly one who uses them for harmful purposes. In plain terms, someone (in folklore, fiction, or modern practice) believed to use magic.

“Witch” is pronounced wihch (/wɪt͡ʃ/ in IPA).

Here is “witch” used in a sentence: “In the story, an old witch cursed the village well.”

Words with a similar meaning to “witch” include magician, ugly woman, shrew and white sole.

Depending on how it is used, “witch” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “witch” comes from Old English. From Old English wicce ("female witch") and wicca ("male witch, sorcerer"), from a Germanic verb meaning "to practice sorcery," possibly linked to the word wicked.

“Witch” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Witch” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a person, especially in folklore, believed to have magical powers, particularly one who uses them for harmful purposes.

In folklore both practise magic, but 'witch' is traditionally used for a female practitioner and 'wizard' for a male one. Witches are often linked to charms, spells, and, in older stories, harmful magic, while wizards are usually portrayed as learned magic-users. The gender association is a tradition rather than a strict rule.

'Witch' is a noun for a person believed to have magical powers. 'Which' is a pronoun or determiner used in questions and to introduce clauses, as in 'which one?'. They are homophones, so the intended word depends entirely on context.

In folklore a 'witch' is someone believed to have magical powers, and the term often carries negative connotations. A 'Wiccan' is a follower of Wicca, a modern pagan religion, who may call themselves a witch in a spiritual rather than a folklore sense. The words overlap but carry very different tones.