Wicca

See also: wicca

English

Etymology

A twentieth-century borrowing of Old English wiċċa (male witch), from Proto-Germanic *wikkô (sorcerer); mispronounced as /ˈwɪkə/ instead of the correct /ˈwit.t͡ʃɑ/. The modern use of the term was introduced first as Wica,[1] mentioned briefly in chapter 10 of Gerald Gardner's book Witchcraft Today (1954), as a collective noun ("the Wica"), allegedly used as a self-designation by practitioners of witchcraft. The spelling Wicca, again as a collective noun, was introduced and popularized by Gerald Gardner's later book, The Meaning of Witchcraft (1959).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈwɪkə/
  • Rhymes: -ɪkə
  • Homophone: wicker (in non-rhotic dialects)

Proper noun

Wicca

  1. A neopagan religion that was first popularized by books written in 1949, 1954, and 1959 by Englishman Gerald Gardner, involving the worship of a horned male god and a moon goddess, the observance of eight Sabbats, and the performance of various rituals.

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References

  1. Gardner, Gerald (1954) Witchcraft Today, New York, New York: Magickal Childe, →ISBN, page 102
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