Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The practices of witches; sorcery; a supernatural power which persons were formerly supposed to obtain by entering into compact with the devil. The belief in witchcraft was common in Europe till the sixteenth century, and maintained its ground with tolerable firmness till the middle of the seventeenth century; indeed it is not altogether extinct even at the present day. Numbers of reputed witches were formerly condemned to be burned. One conspicuous outbreak of popular excitement over supposed demoniacal manifestations took place about 1692 in New England, especially in and near Salem.
- n. Extraordinary power; irresistible influence; fascination; witchery.
Wiktionary
- n. The practice of witches; magic, sorcery or the use supernatural powers to influence or predict events.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The practices or art of witches.
- n. Sorcery; enchantments; intercourse with evil spirits.
- n. Power more than natural; irresistible influence.
- n. Adherence to or the practice of Wicca. In this sense the term does not necessarily include attempts at practice of magic, other than by prayers to the deities.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the art of sorcery
Etymologies
- From Old English wiċċecræft, compound of wiċċe and cræft ("craft"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“• I think that mentioning that I "dabbled" in witchcraft is a cool way to address today's youth.”
The Huffington Post: Edward Murray: Apparently, I'm Christine O'Donnell
“It's a lovely place. ⢠I think that mentioning that I "dabbled" in witchcraft is a cool way to address today's youth.”
The Huffington Post: Edward Murray: Apparently, I'm Christine O'Donnell
“Belief in witchcraft is widespread in parts of Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation.”
“The Greek version of the word witchcraft is connected to the practice of pharmakeia, from which we get our English word pharmacy.”
Simon & Schuster: God is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu …
“In a region where belief in witchcraft is widespread and many women are taught from childhood not to challenge tribal leaders or the prerogatives of men, the fear of flouting tradition often outweighs even the fear of AIDS.”
“The term witchcraft, says the historian of Whalley, is now "transferred to a gentler species of fascination, which my fair countrywomen still continue to exert in full force, without any apprehension of the county magistrates, or even of the king in council.”
“An owl hooted just as Glendenning uttered the word witchcraft.”
“While the term witchcraft may have been coined as shorthand for describing pagan healers, Europe’s witch hunts had the blessing of the Catholic Church.”
“She told Girl, 'You care for your Brother best way you kin,' and she told Boy, 'You take care your Sister, so no boooin (and that's what you call witchcraft)' can get hold of her. ”
“There was a great deal of talk among the neighbors, particularly the petticoated ones, about what they called the witchcraft of Maule's eye.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘witchcraft’.
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macabre
words associated with the macabre & horror.
( open list, randomness )
more:
http://www.wordnik.co...ghastly, grisly, culeus, silly, gruesome, horrid, morbid, angelic, shocking, hideous, ghoulish, frightful and 135 more...
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Five Consecutive Consonants
A list of words containing five consecutive consonants
I do not include words containing "y" as part of the 5-letter string, since that letter invariably functions as a vowel, as in rhythm. <...heartstricken, heartstruck, wellspring, offspring, yachtsman, worthwhile, backstretch, backstroke, downstream, downstroke, breaststroke, birthstone and 188 more...
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ghost
This is Ghost List 2 ( the kind that go 'boo!' ) :P
( open list )
more:
http://www.wordnik.com/lists/macabrephantom, spectral, specter, spectre, spooky, poltergeist, haunt, spirit, banshee, cryptic, shadow, phantasm and 311 more...
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darren latson
education
sorcery, sorcerer, magic, wizardry, wizard, Sorcerer, Wizard, Wizardry, magician, mysticism, mystic, education and 5 more...
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Consecutive Consonants
borscht, worthwhile, bronkhurstspruit, latchstring, hirschsprung's di..., backstroke, birthplace, birthstone, breaststroke, corkscrew, downstream, erstwhile and 26 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6689 more...
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candy cane heroin
sex, sexual, branden, rozz, candy cane, candy canes, cotton candy, may day, may, taurus, heroin, love and 134 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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junestag's Words
postmodernism, cat, fish, rabbit, dell, coffee, elearning, mazda, php, mysql, flash, blogger and 755 more...
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Setting the Scene: Dark and Dreary
Words that lend to the dark and dreary atmosphere of gothic literature.
dark, dreary, shroud, shrouded, veiled, skeleton, skeletal, dead, death, murky, gloomy, lugubrious and 274 more...
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2008 Wordlist
Hopefully, I'll be using this site for more than one year. It will be fun then to look back and see what new words I found worthy of notice in any given year.
All words spotted in 2008...longanimity, permalancer, breeder, biodegradable, handicapable, gender-neutral, translator, interpreter, translation, interpreting, kleptocracy, fanfiction and 1598 more...
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Magical moments
abracadabra, presto, open sesame, alakazam, incantation, spell, charm, chant, hocus pocus, legerdemain, occult, mystification and 24 more...
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magik
magic, wizardry, scorcery, necronomicon, ensorcelled, cantrip, pentagram, shaman, numerology, tarot, séance, oracle and 30 more...
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The Crucible
Terms and phrases from Arthur Miller's 1953 play, The Crucible, which, though set amidst the witch trials of 17th century Massachusetts, was an allegory of the McCarthyism and US Government blackli...
witchcraft, the arena of mora..., heavenly combat, death-ridden, hard-handed, screeching and gi..., sniveling, ill-concealed, shiny-eyed, vicious certainty, providence, forked and hoofed and 31 more...
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Words From Books
I know that all words are from books, but this list is for those words that make you think of a book or a place in a book when you read them.
unicorn, fairy, faerie, elves, muggle, hobbit, horcrux, shire, centaur, troll, dragon, dwarves and 10 more...
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bewitched
witchery, witchcraft, cult, sorcery, relic, talisman, amulet, bewilder, enchant
Tweets
Looking for tweets for witchcraft.
chained_bear Or Thomas Paine. :) Except for that "crowd" part. May 2, 2008
reesetee Hey! That sounds like Wordie! :-) May 2, 2008
john "It's a kind of old witchcraft: Summon a big crowd of people, get them excited with words, and create a sense of power strong enough to topple mountains and overturn the seas."
Wang Shuo, quoted in The New Yorker: Crazy English: The national scramble to learn a new language before the Olympics, by Evan Osnos, April 28, 2008
May 2, 2008