Definition of "witch"

witch¹

/wɪt͡ʃ/

noun
plural witches
1. A person who practices witchcraft.
  Quotations
  Some of the kynges had merueyl of Merlyns wordes and demed well that it shold be as he said And som of hem lough hym to scorne as kyng Lot and mo other called hym a wytche But thenne were they accorded with Merlyn that kynge Arthur shold come oute and speke with the kynges.(please add an English translation of this quotation)
  1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum viij”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book I, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889,
  1. (now usually particularly) A woman who is learned in and actively practices witchcraft.
    Quotations
    He cannot abide the old woman of Brentford; he swears she's a witch.
    c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene ii]
    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.
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
third-person singular simple present witches, present participle witching, simple past and past participle witched
1. (intransitive) To dowse for water.
  Quotations
  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

witch²

/wɪt͡ʃ/

verb
third-person singular simple present witches, present participle witching, simple past and past participle witched
1. (obsolete, intransitive) To practise witchcraft.
2. (transitive) To bewitch.
  Quotations
  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

witch³

/wɪt͡ʃ/

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

Definition of "witch"

witch1

noun

Quotations

Quotations

verb

Quotations

witch2

verb

Quotations

witch3

noun

witch¹

witch²

witch³