Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “witchery” come from?

Witchery derives from Middle English -erie added to Old English wicca, which combined a Proto-Indo-European root weyk- meaning to separate or divide with the agent suffix -yós, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wey-.

witchery (English): Witchcraft; An act of witchcraft; Allure, charm,...

Definitions

  1. Witchcraft; An act of witchcraft; Allure, charm,...

Ancestry of “witchery”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-eryAdded to nouns to form other nouns meaning the...
2French-eriedenoting a shop selling a certain product;...
3Old French-erieused to form feminine nouns
4Old French-ieindicates a feminine noun, often an abstract one
5Latin-iaUsed to form a feminine abstract noun, usually...
6Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
7Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
8Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →