History of Terms in Witchcraft
Hello, and welcome to our compendium of witchcraft terms!
This started as a project for one of Aubrey's Masters classes at ASU, the History of the English Language.
The amount of words that are native to English has dwindled since there was so much contact between the Anglo-Saxons and the rest of the world. My personal area of interest is in witchcraft and religion. I saw that a previous student had created a presentation on words and idioms used in witchcraft. I really liked this idea, and spoke with Jessi about hosting this information here on our website. She was very excited to have this here. After the assignment is submitted, I will continue to add to this compendium with more information.
I hypothesized that more than 50% of words associated with witchcraft and religion are borrowed words. I think that this is the case since most practiced religions among the masses evolved from Europe and the Middle East.
History of Terms in Witchcraft
The Sun
"The Sun is the star at the heart of our solar system. Its gravity holds the solar system together, keeping everything — from the biggest planets to the smallest bits...
The Sun
"The Sun is the star at the heart of our solar system. Its gravity holds the solar system together, keeping everything — from the biggest planets to the smallest bits...
Amethyst
Amethyst is a purple quartz known for its associations with psychic ability and amplifying intentions. The word amethyst is originally a borrowing from French around 1300 CE. The original French...
Amethyst
Amethyst is a purple quartz known for its associations with psychic ability and amplifying intentions. The word amethyst is originally a borrowing from French around 1300 CE. The original French...
Conclusion
Many of the words listed here, as of August 6th, 2024, are borrowed from other languages. They are mostly borrowed from French and Latin. There are other words that were inherited from Germanic and are very closely related to Latin words.
I was anticipating more terms to have been borrowed than what I found resulting in my original hypothesis as being incorrect. I am also surprised that there is little influence beyond French and Latin. I am looking forward to continuing to research more terms to share and add to the site. I hope that you find this as interesting and helpful as I do.