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Webster 1913 Edition

Warlock

War′lock

,
Noun.
[OE.
warloghe
a deceiver, a name or the Devil, AS.
w[GREEK]rloga
a belier or breaker of his agreement, word, or pledge;
w[GREEK]r
covenant, troth (aki[GREEK] to L.
verus
true; see
Very
) +
loga
a liar (in comp.),
leógan
to lie. See 3d
Lie
.]
A male witch; a wizard; a sprite; an imp.
[Written also
warluck
.]
Dryden.
It was Eyvind Kallda’s crew
Of
warlocks
blue,
With their caps of darkness hooded!
Longfellow.

War′lock

,
Adj.
Of or pertaining to a warlock or warlock; impish.
[R.]
Thou shalt win the
warlock
fight.
J. R. Drak[GREEK].

Webster 1828 Edition

Warlock

WARLOCK

, WARLUCK,
Noun.
A male witch; a wizard. [This word is not in use.]

Definition 2024

warlock

warlock

English

Alternative forms

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

Noun

warlock ‎(plural warlocks)

  1. A male magic-user; a male witch.
  2. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) A traitor or oath-breaker.
  3. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) The Devil, Satan; a demon.

Usage notes

  • Because of its etymology, the term is not much used by male witches themselves, who often identify as witches instead.[3][4][5]

Translations

References

Etymology

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). 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). Cognate with Old High German wārlogo ‎(“truce-breaker, traitor”).

A few writers have alternatively proposed that the word derives from Old Norse varðlokkur ‎(“caller of spirits”),[1] but as the OED notes, this is implausible due to the extreme rarity of the Norse word and the fact that forms without hard -k, which are consistent with the Old English etymology (“traitor”), are attested earlier than forms with -k[2] (and forms with -ð- are not attested).

Pronunciation

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