warlock

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English

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Alternative forms

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  • warluck (uncommon, chiefly dialectal, largely obsolete)
  • warlow (obsolete)

Etymology

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From Middle English warloghe, warlowe, warloȝe, from Old English wǣrloga (“traitor, deceiver”, literally “truce-breaker”), from Proto-West Germanic *wārulogō (“liar”), equivalent to Old English 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 and had thus broken their baptismal vows / betrayed Christianity). Cognate with Old Saxon wārlogo (“liar, unfaithful or insidious one”).

A few writers alternatively propose[1] a derivation from Old Norse varðlokkur (“incantations, charms”, literally “ward songs”),[2] but as the OED notes, this is implausible due to the extreme rarity of the Norse word, the semantic difference, and because forms without hard -k, which are consistent with the Old English etymology (“traitor”), are attested earlier than forms with -k,[3] and forms with -ð- are not attested.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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warlock (plural warlocks)

  1. A male magic-user; a male witch.
    • 1730, Edward Burt, Letters from a Gentleman in the North of Scotland:
      He was himself a warlock, or wizard, which they knew by his taking the witch's part.
    • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
      It was the day of warlocks and apparitions, now happily driven out by the zeal of the General Assembly.
  2. (especially in fantasy) A magic-user (regardless of gender).
    • 2015 February 25, Lawrence Watt-Evans, The Spell of the Black Dagger: A Legend of Ethshar, Wildside Press LLC, →ISBN, page 115:
      “Is it because she was a warlock?” she asked. “I know different kinds of magic . . .” “No, that's not it, or at least . . .” Mereth paused, collecting her thoughts, then explained, “The warlockry doesn't help, Lady Sarai, […]”
    • 2015 March 17, Cassandra Clare, Robin Wasserman, The Lost Herondale, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
      It seemed like a strange thing for her to risk on a student she barely knew—but then, she was a warlock. Simon had no idea what they were capable of, but he was getting better at imagining.
    • 2015 July 21, Cassandra Clare, Robin Wasserman, Pale Kings and Princes, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
      Usually she blended in with the rest of the Academy faculty, making it easy to forget she was a warlock (at least, if you overlooked the blue skin). But he'd noticed that whenever another Downworlder was on campus, Catarina went out […]
    • 2020 September 1, Cassandra Clare, Wesley Chu, The Lost Book of the White, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
      “We're also looking for a couple of warlocks,” Magnus said. “A Korean woman and a green fellow with horns.” “Oh,” said Fang with a distinct change of mood. “Them.” “You've seen them?” Alec said, trying not to sound too eager.

Usage notes

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  • Because of its etymology, the term is not used by some male witches, who prefer other terms like witch instead.[4][5][6]

Translations

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References

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References
  1. ^ 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"
  2. ^ “varð-lokkur” in: Richard Cleasby, Guðbrandur Vigfússon — An Icelandic-English Dictionary (1874)
  3. ^ 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."
  4. ^ 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."
  5. ^ 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."'
  6. ^ 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."

Anagrams

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Scots

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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

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warlock (plural warlocks)

  1. the Devil
    1. a devil; a fiend
  2. 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
    1. (occasionally) witch
    2. (in a weaker sense) sorcerer, wizard, magician
      • He wis hissel a warlock or a wicht, whit thay kent by thit he teuk 'e witch's pairt.
        He was himself a warlock, or wizard, which they knew by his taking the witch's part.
  3. (attributive, in combination) bewitched, magical, supernatural; malevolent, mischievous
  4. (derogatory) an old, ugly or misanthropic man; a mischievous or troublesome fellow

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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