Where does “witch-hunt” come from?
witch-hunt (English) comes from English Hunt, from Middle English hunten, from Cimbrian hunt, from Middle High German hunt, from Old High German hunt, from Proto-West Germanic hund, from Proto-Germanic hundaz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱwn̥tós — dog.
witch-hunt (English): A search for people believed to be using sorcery...
Definitions
- A search for people believed to be using sorcery...
Ancestry of “witch-hunt”, step by step
witch-hunt traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Hunt
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Hunt | for a hunter (for game, birds etc) |
| 2 | Middle English | hunten | to hunt |
| 3 | Cimbrian | hunt | dog |
| 4 | Middle High German | hunt | dog (Canis familiaris) |
| 5 | Old High German | hunt | dog |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | hund | dog |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | hundaz | dog |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱwn̥tós | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱwṓ | dog |
via English Witch
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Witch | A person (now usually particularly a woman) who uses magical or similar supernatural powers to influence or predict events, particularly one with malicious motives |
| 2 | Middle English | wicche | witch, wizard, sorceror; pagan, heretic,... |
| 3 | Old English | wiċċe | (female) witch |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | wikkōną | to practice sorcery |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | wik-néh₂- | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | weyk- | to separate, to choose; to contain, to envelop;... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wey- | to wither; fade; to move, go ahead; to be strong;... |