wicce

Wicce is an Old English noun used to refer to a female practitioner of witchcraft. The masculine form, wicca, referred to male witches or sorcerers, and together they form the basic Germanic root for the modern English word witch. The feminine wicce appears in various Old English texts, where it denotes women thought to exercise magical knowledge or engage in ritual practice, often within Christian moralizing discourse that cast such practices as dangerous or heretical.

In terms of etymology, wicce derives from a Proto-Germanic root associated with the craft of magic, and it is cognate with related terms in other Germanic languages. The spelling and pronunciation in Old English manuscripts reflect typical variation of the period.

In scholarly use, wicce is primarily of historical interest as evidence for gendered language about witchcraft in early medieval England. It helps illuminate how women who practiced or were accused of magic were described and integrated into contemporary social and religious thought. The term is rarely used in modern English outside of linguistic or historical discussion, and it should not be confused with Wicca, the modern neopagan religion, which is a separate usage and etymology.

Cultural and textual appearances of wicce include religious, legal, and literary contexts in which witchcraft, sorcery, or folk magic are discussed or depicted in Old English sources.