English
bewitch
Bewitch comes from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to sift, separate’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-‘to sift, separate’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bewicchen
- Englishearliest quotation 1648bewitch
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-‘to sift, separate’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bewicchen
- Englishearliest quotation 1648bewitch
Earliest quotation: 1648, Robert Herrick, Delight in Disorder: “A Svveet diſorder in the dreſſe / Kindles in…”
Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi ‘at, near’
Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi
Proto-Germanic *bi ‘near, by’
Proto-Germanic *bi-
Proto-West Germanic *bi-
English be-
Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to separate (out as holy)’
…
Proto-West Germanic *wikkōn ‘to practice sorcery’
Proto-West Germanic *wikkō ‘sorcerer, warlock’
Old English wiċċa ‘witch, wizard, sorcerer, magician, druid,…’
Middle English wicche ‘witch, wizard, sorcerer’
English witch
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to sift, separate’
victory, victim, province, convince, weakness, victor, icon, conviction, wicked, wo, convict, invincible, eviction, vicar, weakly, wight, evict, witchcraft, vanquish, ancona, waw, wile, 32 more
Today it means
verb To cast a spell upon.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weyk- / bewitch