Witch and Wizard
We were doing a little research and happened to run across this bit from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica under WITCH:
WITCH and WIZARD. These two words are now generally used of an ADEPT (if used as a substantive pronounced adept, if as an adjective adept; from Lat. adeptus, one who has Attained)
adept of the BLACK ART, a sorcerer, magician, female and male respectively "Witch," I formerly of common gender, represents O. Eng. wicca (masc.), wicce (See also: FERN (from O. Eng. fearn, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch varen, and Ger. Farn; the Indo-European root, seen in the Sanskrit parna, a feather, shows the primary meaning; cf. Gr. rmep6 , feather, rTepis, fern) fern.), agent-nouns to wiccian, to practise sorcery, probably a causative verb from O. Eng. wiccn, to give way (cf " weak "), and therefore signifying to avert (evil), conjure away So Norweg. vikja means (I) to turn aside, (2) to exorcise. The participial "wicked" means witch-like. "Wizard" is formed from the French suffix -ard, as in drunkard, laggard, sluggard, &c.
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Semper Servus,
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