Bewiccian

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To cast a magical spell over someone or something through the practice of witchcraft
2. To work sorcery upon a person so as to enchant or enslave them by supernatural means
3. To put under a magical charm by means of witchcraft, as practiced in Old English times

Etymology: Old English had two words for a practitioner of magic: "wicca" for a man and "wicce" for a woman. The masculine form fell out of use, while the feminine "wicce" survived and became the modern "witch," so the older male term vanished from English entirely. "Bewiccian" is the Old English verb formed from the prefix "be-," which here turns the verb into one that acts upon someone, plus "wiccian," meaning "to practise witchcraft," from "wicca." Modern "bewitch" keeps that sense of working magic on a person, and its spelling has changed over the centuries while the meaning stayed largely the same. The ultimate origin of "wicca" itself is uncertain. Its earliest recorded forms are Old English, and no earlier Germanic source has been firmly established.