warlock
English
Alternative forms
- warluck (uncommon, chiefly dialectal, largely obsolete)
- warlow (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English warloghe, warlowe, warloȝe, from Old English wǣrloga (“traitor, deceiver”, literally “truce-breaker”), from wǣr (“covenant, truce, pact, promise”) (from Proto-Indo-European *weh₁- (“true”); whence also Latin vērus) + loga (“liar”), from Proto-Germanic *lugô, related to Old English lēogan (whence English lie). The hard -ck ending originated in Scottish and Northern English, like the sense "male magic-user" (from the notion that such men were in league with the Devil). Cognate with Old High German wārlogo (“truce-breaker, traitor”).
A few writers alternatively propose derivation from Old Norse varðlokkur (“caller of spirits”),[1] but as the OED notes, this is implausible due to the extreme rarity of the Norse word and because forms without hard -k, which are consistent with the Old English etymology (“traitor”), are attested earlier than forms with -k,[2] and forms with -ð- are not attested.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈwɔː.lɒk/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈwɔɹ.lɑk/
Usage notes
Translations
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References
- M. Loewe, C. Blacker, Oracles and Divination (1981), page 130: "'Vardlokkur'...is related to the Scots dialect word 'warlock', wizard, and the meaning is thought to relate to the power to shut in or enclose"
- Oxford English Dictionary, (online) 2nd Edition (1989): "ON. varðlokkur wk. fem. pl. ... incantation, suggested already in Johnson, is too rare (? occurring once), with regard to the late appearance of the -k forms, to be considered."
- Nigel Pennick, Pagan Magic of the Northern Tradition (2015, →ISBN: "The northern English and Scots word warlock, meaning a cunning man or practitioner of spellcraft, is rarely used today except pejoratively. Because dictionaries have given it meanings such as “liar” and “deceiver,” the word has fallen from use."
- Carl McColman, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Paganism (2002, →ISBN, page 51: 'Words ike "wizard" or "magician" aren't used and especially not "warlock."'
- Hans Holzer, The New Pagans (1972), page 60: "Those who do not know about Wicca, especially the uninformed press, like to refer to a male follower of witchcraft as a warlock. While the term "warlock" is certainly a valid description of a person engaged in pagan rituals, it is never used in Wicca, or 'white' witchcraft."
Scots
Alternative forms
- warlick, warlo, warluck, waurlock
Etymology
From Middle English warloghe, warlowe, warloȝe, from Old English wǣrloga (“traitor, deceiver”, literally “truce-breaker”), from wǣr (“covenant, truce, pact, promise”) (from Proto-Indo-European *wēr- (“true”); compare veritable) + loga (“liar”), from Proto-Germanic *lugô, related to Old English lēogan (whence English lie).
Noun
warlock (plural warlocks)
- The Devil
- warlock; a man who is thought to be in league with the powers of darkness and to have supernatural knowledge and means of bewitching and harming others
- (frequently attributive, in combination) bewitched, magical, supernatural; malevolent, mischievous
- (derogatory) an old, ugly or misanthropic man; a mischievous or troublesome fellow
Synonyms
Derived terms
- warlock-breef (“a written commission to be a warlock, a magic charm, supernatural power”)
- warlockry (“wizardry, magic”)
- warlokin
Further reading
- “warlock” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.