witch

English witch comes from Middle English wicche, blending Old English wiċċe (a female witch or sorceress) and wiċċa (a male witch or sorcerer), both derived from the verb wiċċian, "to practice sorcery." That verb traces back through Proto-Germanic *wikkōną to a Proto-Indo-European root, *wik-néh₂-, built on *weyk-, meaning "to consecrate" or "to separate."

The word began as a noun for a practitioner of sorcery in Old English, with distinct male and female forms that later merged into one in Middle English. The related verb sense, "to bewitch," arose later and is thought to be a shortened form of bewitch.

The same Proto-Indo-European root *weyk- lies behind Latin victima, "sacrificial victim," and is echoed in Lithuanian viẽkas ("life-force") and Sanskrit vinákti ("to set apart"), all sharing the idea of setting something apart, whether for ritual or sacrifice.