Where does “witchdoctor” come from?
witchdoctor (English) comes from English doctor, from Middle English doctour, from Anglo-Norman doctour, from Latin doctor, from Latin -tor, from Proto-Italic -tōr, from Proto-Indo-European -tōr, from Proto-Indo-European -tor-s.
witchdoctor (English): Alternative form of witch doctor
Definitions
- Alternative form of witch doctor
Ancestry of “witchdoctor”, step by step
witchdoctor traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English doctor
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | doctor | A physician; a member of the medical profession;... |
| 2 | Middle English | doctour | doctor |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | doctour | Alternative spelling of doctur |
| 4 | Latin | doctor | teacher, instructor; catechist |
| 5 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |
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;... |