witching

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English wicching, wicchand, equivalent to witch +‎ -ing.

Adjective

witching (comparative more witching, superlative most witching)

1. Of or pertaining to witchcraft or sorcery, or to witches or sorcerers.
   • a. 1822 (date written), John Keats, “[Supplementary Verses.] A Prophecy: To George Keats in America.”, in [Horace Elisha Scudder], editor, The Complete Poetical Works and Letters of John Keats, Cambridge edition, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], published 1899, →OCLC, page 249, column 1:

     'Tis the witching time of night, / Orbed is the moon and bright, / And the Stars they glisten, glisten, / Seeming with bright eyes to listen.

2. Of a person: having the power to bewitch someone or something.
3. (archaic) Bewitching, enchanting.
   • 1859, Ferna Vale, Natalie; or, A Gem Among the Sea-Weeds:

     But who is this witching beauty by his side, who would fain impress you with a belief that that mischief which will not remain concealed for the briefest period, is not her entire composition?

Derived terms

• triple witching hour
• witching hour

Verb

witching

1. present participle and gerund of witch

Etymology 2

From Middle English wicchinge, from Old English wiċċung (“witching, witchcraft”), equivalent to witch +‎ -ing.

Noun

witching (plural witchings)

1. gerund of witch: an act of witchcraft.
   • 2002, Christine Gentry, When Spirits Walk, page 28:

     There was a lot of information to draw upon because his occupation exposed him to more witchings every month than most individuals experienced in a life time.

Derived terms

• quadruple witching
• triple witching
• water witching

Anagrams

• Gwitchin