witchcraftn.
/ˈwɪtʃkrɑːft/, /ˈwɪtʃkraft/, U.S. /ˈwɪtʃˌkræft/ 1. † c. Scottish. Physical material or objects used as part of a spell or charm. Obsolete.
a. Magic or other supernatural practices; (the use of) magical or supernatural powers, esp. for evil purposes or as used by witches. Also: the body of knowledge or subject of study associated with this.Practices typically associated with witches include the casting of spells and the preparation of potions believed to have (helpful or harmful) magical properties. Powers commonly attributed to witches include the ability to fly, esp. by means of enchanted objects such as broomsticks. These are variously attributed to the possession of special knowledge, to innate qualities, or to a compact made with the Devil or evil spirits; see the note at witch n. 1a for further discussion.In quot. OE2 referring to witchcraft as a pagan practice.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > [noun]
wielingeOE
wielOE
craftOE
witchcraftOE
witchdomOE
telingc1230
demerlaykc1275
dweomercraeftc1275
sorcerya1300
magicc1387
maleficec1390
jugglerya1400
precination1503
witchery1546
maleficiousness1547
prestigiation?c1550
wizardry1583
magie1592
dark art1613
prestigion1635
conjurement1645
magomancy1652
wizardism1682
thaumaturgy1727
warlockry1818
witchwork1827
brujería1838
wizardship1882
trolldom1891
mojo1923
pixie dust1951
witchering1956
old religion1964
OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 182 Animað hraðe þa reðan wiccan, seo þe ðus awent þurh wiccecræft manna mod.
OE Laws of Cnut (Nero) v. i. §1. 312 Hæðenscipe byð, þæt man deofolgyld weorðige, þæt is þæt man weorþige hæðene godas.., oððon wiccecræft lufige.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Bodl.) (1981) l. 830 (MED) Þu wið þi wicchecreft habbe imaket se monie to eornen towart hare deað.
c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 1301 Þu ȝeolpest of seolliche wisdome, Þu nustest wanene he þe come, Bute hit of wicchecrefte were.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 4044 His wif with wichecraft to a wolf him schaped.
c1480 (a1400) St. Clement 705 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 393 He..wend [þat] he begabbit had bene be wesch-crafte.
1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay sig. Bii Thay sine aganis this [first] command, quhilk wsis wich craft.
1671 W. Salmon Synopsis Medicinæ i. xxv. 51 The Sickness is more than natural, and Witchcraft is to be feared.
1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. iv. 60 To deny the possibility, nay, actual existence, of witchcraft and sorcery, is..to contradict the revealed word of God.
1843 E. Dieffenbach Trav. N.Z. II. 16 The belief in witchcraft (makuta), to which many [natives] have fallen victim.
1942 W. B. Cannon in Amer. Anthropologist 44 171 The possible use of poisons must be excluded before ‘voodoo’ death can be accepted as an actual consequence of sorcery or witchcraft.
2018 University Wire (Carlsbad, Calif.) 18 Jan. The film employs familiar tropes of witchcraft—cats, broomsticks, spell books—and then takes them in thrillingly original directions.
b. In plural. Acts or instances of magic or other supernatural practices; spells, charms, etc. Also (in singular): †a kind of magic (obsolete).
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the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > [noun] > act(s) of
wielOE
witchcraftsOE
telingc1230
sorceries1357
witcheries1573
witchering1818
OE Homily (Tiber. C.i.) in P. Clemoes Anglo-Saxons (1959) 278 Untidætas, and oferdrænceas, wiccecræftas, and wiglunga.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 7077 Driȝmenn. weppmenn & wifmenn ec Þatt follȝhenn wicche crafftess.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 196 Hit bringeð to naut. al þes deofles wiȝeles..hise wrenhfule wichecreftes.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. lxi. 1211 Wicches vsen þe herte..of þis beste [sc. hyena] in many wicchecraftes.
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 93 Feiþful prestis ammonest þe peple, þat þei wit þer wichecraftis and enchauntingis..may do no þing of remedy to ani seknes of man.
?1537 Hugh of Caumpedene tr. Hist. Kyng Boccus sig. D.ivv Us thou hast now forsakyn And to a wychcrafte the takyn.
1569 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. i. 43 Scho will confess no wytchcreftis nor gilt.
1670 R. T. Opinion Witchcraft Vindicated 43 Killing of Men or Beasts by Witchcrafts.
1767 T. Hutchinson Hist. Province Massachusets-Bay, 1691–1750 i. 49 Commissioners..were appointed for the trial of witchcrafts.
1888 Sunday Chron. (San Francisco) 12 Feb. 8/1 Enchantments, witchcrafts, the science of the herbalist, the art of the Indian magician—everything of the sort is put in pell-mell between the covers fo this strange book.
2008 T. Sanders Beyond Bodies vii. 183 It is the complementary combination of male and female witches and witchcrafts that enables Ihanzu witches to mobilize their diabolical powers to maximum effect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > [noun] > object used in
mirrorc1330
powderc1395
goblet1519
glass?1566
witchcraft1572
witch's cauldron1762
troll-drum1894
1572 in W. Mackay & H. C. Boyd Rec. Inverness (1911) I. 216 The said Christian left in her house..wichecraft trocht the quihilkis scho can gett na saill to hir aill.
1597 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) II. 25 That scho laid in this graith..in a hoill vnder the stair, and..maid Gothray and his wyffe to beleif it was witchecraft layd in be ane vther.
1662 in J. R. N. Macphail Highland Papers (1920) III. 7 Confesses that..they put a pock with witchcraft under his bed and a catt to effectuat the samine.
2. figurative. Bewitching or captivating attractiveness or charm; power or influence over others that fascinates or beguiles, as if by magic or supernatural means. Also occasionally: an instance of this.
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the mind > will > motivation > attraction, allurement, or enticement > [noun] > fascination or enchantment
witchcraft?c1550
witchery1575
sireny1600
bewitchment1610
captivation1610
bewitchery1652
enchantment1678
fascination1697
charming1720
witching1796
?c1550 tr. P. Vergil Three Bks. Eng. Hist. (1844) 180 That sorceres Elyzabeth the quene..with her witchcraft hath so enchantyd me that by thanoyance thereof I am dissolvyd.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) v. ii. 274 You haue Witch-craft In your Lippes. View more context for this quotation
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII iii. ii. 18 He hath a Witchcraft Ouer the King in's Tongue. View more context for this quotation
1704 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion III. x. 58 Whether the raising this Spirit [of the Levellers] was a piece of Cromwell's ordinary witchcraft, in order to some of his designs, or whether [etc.].
1819 P. B. Shelley Rosalind & Helen 36 The subtle witchcraft of his tongue Unlocked the hearts of those who keep Gold.
1996 Econ. & Polit. Weekly 23 Mar. 718/3 The mitterrandist boat was now floundering and his shrewd political witchcraft of yesteryear would no longer work.
3. A modern pagan belief system which draws on pre-Christian religious history in its beliefs and rituals. Cf. Wicca n. 2.
ΚΠ
1954 G. B. Gardner (title) Witchcraft Today.
1987 Insight 8 June 59/1 Though the origins of Wicca, or witchcraft, are disputed, its followers agree on their pursuit of harmony with nature and an enhanced spirituality.
2020 Tel. & Argus (Bradford) (Nexis) 23 July Modern-day witchcraft is attracting a growing following of mainly younger women.
Compounds
C1. General use as a modifier (in sense 1a).
ΚΠ
1598 R. Tofte Alba ii. sig. D7v Am I so mad, to thinke that such a Toy, As Sorcerie is, should ought preuaile for me, That witchcraft power hath for to make me ioy?
1796 G. M. Woodward Eccentric Excurs. 135 Among the most approved witchcraft remedies, we find nailing horse-shoes at the thresholds of doors.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 877/1 The latest witchcraft frenzy was in New England, about 1692.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 452 Human sacrifice is very rare in Congo Français, the killing of people being nine times in ten a witchcraft palaver.
1950 Democrat Chron. (Rochester, N.Y.) 15 Mar. 7/4 The State of Delaware reached down its dustiest lawbook to bring a 23-year-old mother of two to court yesterday on witchcraft charges.
2002 N. Drury Dict. Esoteric 191/1 Hallucinatory witchcraft potions are responsible for the legend of witches travelling through the air to the sabbat, riding on their broomsticks.
C2.
witchcraft act n. chiefly historical any of various pieces of legislation relating to the practise of witchcraft, esp. when this is regarded as a crime (often with capital initials when denoting a specific act).In British history the term is used to refer to the parliamentary acts of the 16th and 17th centuries which declared witchcraft to be a crime, but is also applied to the later acts repealing these, esp. the Witchcraft Act of 1735 that made it illegal to claim a person was a witch. In places where belief in witchcraft is still current, ‘witchcraft acts’ are usually intended to protect those accused of witchcraft.
ΚΠ
1737 F. Lynch Independent Patriot iv. ii. 76 Gad, Lady Warble, thou hast wrought a Miracle—If the Witchcraft Act had not been repeal'd,..I wou'd arraign thee for a Sorceress.
1849 R. Hildreth Hist. U.S.A. II. xx. 164 King William's veto on the witchcraft act prevented any further trials.
1957 C. Hole Mirror of Witchcraft i. 20 By the Witchcraft Acts of 1563 and 1604, invocation of evil spirits and magical murder were capital offences.
1984 St. J. A. Robilliard Relig. & Law vii. 118 In 1735 a new Witchcraft Act was passed in order to confirm the change of attitude towards the subject.
2012 Times of India (Nexis) 10 Apr. ‘Ten murders related to witchcraft have already taken place in 2012,’..Debendra Sutar told reporters... Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have Witchcraft Acts to take action against such crimes.
Derivatives
witchˈcraftical adj. rare relating to or characteristic of witchcraft.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > [adjective]
witchOE
wielfulc1275
magica1393
superstitiousc1425
diabolic1485
magicala1492
prestigious?1534
sorcerous1546
witching1567
wizardly1588
wizard1638
stoicheiotical1646
witchcraftical1676
maleficious1684
Arabian-night1808
Magian1818
wizard-like1859
1676 Doctr. of Devils xx. 84 Away with Witchcraftical Doctors, away with the doctrine of Devils.
2020 @harry_maps 18 Mar. in twitter.com (accessed 30 Nov. 2020) With all the mathematical, aerodynamical, scientifical and witchcraftical calculations, this is impossible.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2021; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.OE