Word journey
The word witch, wizard
one who works magic (two separate words)
The journey
| Form | Language | Date | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| *weyk- | Proto-Indo-European (reconstructed) · Proto-Indo-European Religion | undated | to consecrate, set apart; reconstructed, uncertain |
| *wikkōną | Proto-Germanic (reconstructed) | undated | to divine, foretell; reconstructed |
| wicca / wiċċe | Old English | 900 CE | sorcerer / sorceress, from wiccian, "to practise sorcery" |
| wicken | Middle Low German | 1250 CE | to soothsay (a cognate, not the source) |
| *weyd- | Proto-Indo-European (reconstructed) · Proto-Indo-European Religion | undated | to see, know; reconstructed (also behind druid) |
| wysard | Middle English | 1425 CE | wise man, sage (wise + -ard) |
| wizard | English | 1550 CE | magician, occultist |
What is certain and what is not
Witch and wizard are unrelated. Witch goes back to an Old English verb "to practise sorcery" whose deeper origin is problematic (Kroonen proposes PIE *weyk- "consecrate, separate"); wizard is "wise" + -ard, and only meant "magician" from about the 1500s.