witchcraft

English

Etymology

From Middle English wicchecraft, wicchecreft, from Old English wiċċecræft, equivalent to witch +‎ -craft.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwɪt͡ʃkɹæft/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɪt͡ʃkɹɑːft/

Noun

witchcraft (usually uncountable, plural witchcrafts)

1. The practice of witches; magic, sorcery, or the use of supernatural powers to influence or predict events.

   Synonyms: witchdom, witchery, witchwork

   Wiccans believe in a modernised form of witchcraft.

   • 1881, P. Chr. Asbjörnsen [i.e., Peter Christen Asbjørnsen], “A Day with the Capercailzies”, in H. L. Brækstad, transl., Round the Yule Log. Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, →OCLC, page 84:

     Such witchcraft has no power now to show itself, because the people don't believe in it any more.

   • 2024 October 26, Scottie Andrew, “Witches walk among us — but they’re not like the fictional ones you grew up with”, in CNN‎^[1], archived from the original on 6 July 2025:

     The way Green practices witchcraft defies stereotypes of broomstick-wielding, cauldron-toting, pointy-hatted witches. He doesn’t belong to a coven. He’s not Wiccan or pagan, religions that are rooted in witchcraft. He has a few cats, though they’re better suited for snuggling than serving as helpful familiars.

2. Black magic; the use of witchcraft for evil means.

   The Bible warns against the use of witchcraft and sorcery.

3. Something, such as an advanced technology, that seems almost magical.

   Synonym: wizardry

   • 1987, Air Force Magazine, volume 70, page 88:

     There can be no denying that the more than 100 exhibiting companies and divisions also gave full play to examples of their latest technological witchcraft, as befits the foremost US aerospace event.

4. An irresistible or seemingly magical influence.

Derived terms

• antiwitchcraft
• witchcrafty

Translations

the practice of witches

• Arabic: سِحْر (ar) m (siḥr)
• Armenian: թովչանք (hy) (tʻovčʻankʻ), կախարդություն (hy) (kaxardutʻyun)
• Asturian: bruxería f
• Azerbaijani: sehr (az)
• Belarusian: чараўні́цтва n (čarawníctva)
• Bengali: ডাকিনীবিদ্যাā (ḍakinibiddaā)
• Breton: sorserezh
• Bulgarian: магьосничество n (magjosničestvo), вълшебство́ (bg) n (vǎlšebstvó)
• Burmese: ပယောဂ (my) (pa.yau:ga.)
• Catalan: bruixeria (ca) f
• Chichewa: ufiti
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 巫術 / 巫术 (zh) (wūshù), 魔術 / 魔术 (zh) (móshù), 魔法 (zh) (mófǎ)

• Czech: čarodějnictví n
• Danish: hekseri n, heksekunst c, trolddom c
• Dutch: hekserij (nl) f
• Esperanto: sorĉado
• Estonian: nõidus (et)
• Ewe: dzosasa
• Finnish: noituus (fi)
• French: sorcellerie (fr) f
• Galician: bruxaría (gl) f, meiguería (gl) f
• Georgian: გრძნეულება (grʒneuleba), ჯადოქრობა (ǯadokroba), მისნობა (misnoba), მაგია (magia)
• German: Hexerei (de) f, Hexenkunst (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌻𐌿𐌱𐌾𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍃𐌴𐌹 f (lubjaleisei)
• Greek: μαγεία (el) f (mageía)

  Ancient Greek: γοητεία f (goēteía)

• Hanunoo: padaya
• Hebrew: כְּשָׁפִים (he) m pl (kshafím)
• Ilocano: tamay
• Indonesian: sihir (id), tenung (id)
• Ingrian: noijitus, noijitos
• Irish: draíocht f, asarlaíocht f, diabhlaíocht f, síofrógacht f, tuaithe f (literary)
• Italian: stregoneria (it) f
• Japanese: 魔法 (ja) (まほう, mahō), 魔術 (ja) (まじゅつ, majutsu), 妖術 (ja) (うじゅつ, yōjutsu)
• Kazakh: жадыгөйлік (jadygöilık)
• Khmer: វេទមន្ត (veit mŭən), ធ្មប់ (km) (thmup)
• Korean: 마법(魔法) (ko) (mabeop), 마술(魔術) (ko) (masul), 요술(妖術) (ko) (yosul)
• Lao: ເວດມົນ (wēt mon)
• Latin: artes magicarum f pl, artes magicae f pl, artes magae f pl, veneficium n, fascinum n, maleficium n
• Latvian: raganošana
• Macedonian: маѓепсништво n (maǵepsništvo), волшепство n (volšepstvo), чи́нка f (čínka)
• Malay: sihir (ms)
• Malayalam: മന്ത്രവാദം (mantravādaṁ), ആഭിചാരം (ml) (ābhicāraṁ)
• Manx: buitçheraght f, obbeeys f, pishag f
• Māori: whaiwaiā, mākutu, taurarua, whaiwhaiā, kaiatua
• Meru: urogi
• Naga:

  Khiamniungan Naga: vāisō

• Nandi: ponisio
• Norman: chorchell'lie f
• Norwegian: heksekunst m

  Bokmål: hekseri n

  Nynorsk: hekseri n

• Persian: جادوگری (fa) (jâdugari), کید (fa) (keyd), سحر (fa) (sehr)
• Plautdietsch: Hakjsarie n, Hakjsenkonst f
• Polish: czary (pl)
• Portuguese: bruxaria (pt) f
• Russian: колдовство́ (ru) n (koldovstvó), чароде́йство (ru) n (čarodéjstvo), ведовство́ (ru) n (vedovstvó), волшба́ (ru) f (volšbá) (obsolete), волшебство́ (ru) n (volšebstvó)
• Sanskrit: अभिचार (sa) n (abhicāra)
• Scots: witchcraft, can, glamour, glamourie, sorcery, bogle wark, witcherie
• Scottish Gaelic: buidseachd f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: враџбина f, вештичарство n, вјештичарство n

  Latin: vradžbina (sh) f, veštičarstvo n, vještičarstvo n

• Slovak: čarodejníctvo n
• Slovene: čarovništvo (sl) n
• Spanish: brujería (es) f, agüizote (es) m, ahuizote (es) m
• Swahili: uganga (sw), urogi (sw)
• Swedish: häxkonst (sv) c, häxeri (sv) n, trolldom (sv) c
• Thai: เวทมนตร์ (th) (wêet-mon)
• Tibetan: མཐུ (mthu)
• Turkish: büyü (tr), sihir (tr)
• Ukrainian: чаклу́нство n (čaklúnstvo), чарівни́цтво n (čarivnýctvo)
• Vietnamese: thuật phù thủy (術符水)
• Welsh: swyngyfaredd f, dewiniaeth f
• Yao: usaŵi class 14
• Zazaki: sihir, nuşte (diq)

See also

• druidcraft
• gypsycraft
• hexcraft
• sorcery
• spellcasting
• spellcraft
• warlockry
• witchery
• wizardcraft
• wizardry

Middle English

Noun

witchcraft

1. alternative form of wicchecraft