Wicchecreft

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The supernatural practice of casting spells and using magical powers, traditionally associated with witches and sorcerers
2. Magic arts thought to be wielded by sorcerers, especially through spells, charms and dealings with malevolent spirits
3. An archaic term for the craft of sorcery, the use of charms and incantations to produce supernatural effects

Etymology: Wicchecreft is an Old English noun, a compound of "wicche" (a female sorcerer, or witch) and "-creft" (skill, craft, or art, the same root that gives modern "craft"). Its literal sense is "witch-craft," the skill or practice of a witch. Old English compounds often name a practice by its practitioner plus the word for the skill, so the form reads almost like a job description. The word is recorded in Old English texts, where it appears in the sense of sorcery or magical practice, and it is the direct ancestor of Middle English "wicchecraft," which later became modern "witchcraft." The shift from "wicche" to "witch" and from "-creft" to "-craft" reflects the regular sound changes of English over several centuries. The modern word kept its original sense of magical practice, though it no longer carries the older implication of a skill that anyone could learn.