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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
witchcraft
noun
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ At that time, hundreds of women were burned at the stake for witchcraft.
▪ People who were accused of practicing witchcraft were thrown into the lake.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ For three hundred years the persecution of witchcraft was to continue until the advent of our modern scientific world.
▪ How do these findings bear upon our earlier discussion of Zande witchcraft?
▪ Last May, he said, she erected an altar to witchcraft on his dresser.
▪ She could try to forget him; she could attempt an exorcism by her particular witchcraft of compulsive denigration.
▪ Then, widening our focus, we looked at Lugbara witchcraft and the ancestor cult which complements and completes it.
▪ This theory became the basis for the examination and torture of those suspected of witchcraft.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
witchcraft

witchcraft \witch"craft`\ (w[i^]ch"kr[a^]ft), n. [AS. wiccecr[ae]ft.]

  1. The practices or art of witches.

  2. Hence: Sorcery; enchantments; intercourse with evil spirits.

  3. Power more than natural; irresistible influence.

    He hath a witchcraft Over the king in 's tongue.
    --Shak.

  4. Adherence to or the practice of Wicca. In this sense the term does not necessarily include attempts at practice of magic, other than by prayers to the deities.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
witchcraft

Old English wiccecræft "witchcraft, magic," from wicce (see witch) + cræft "power, skill" (see craft). Witchcraft was declared a crime in English law in 1542; trials there peaked in 1580s and 1640s but fell sharply after 1660. The last, in 1717, ended in acquittal. The Witchcraft Act was repealed 1736. \n

Wiktionary
witchcraft

n. The practice of witches; magic, sorcery or the use supernatural powers to influence or predict events.

WordNet
witchcraft

n. the art of sorcery [syn: witchery]

Wikipedia
Witchcraft

Witchcraft (also called witchery or spellcraft) broadly means the practice of, and belief in, magical skills and abilities that are able to be exercised by individuals and certain social groups. Witchcraft is a complex concept that varies culturally and societally; therefore, it is difficult to define with precision and cross-cultural assumptions about the meaning or significance of the term should be applied with caution. Witchcraft often occupies a religious, divinatory or medicinal role, and is often present within societies and groups whose cultural framework includes a magical world view. Although witchcraft can often share common ground with related concepts such as sorcery, the paranormal, magical, superstition, necromancy, possession, shamanism, healing, spiritualism, nature worship and the occult, it is usually seen as distinct from these when examined by sociologists and anthropologists.

Witchcraft (1988 film)

Witchcraft is the first in a series of horror thriller films. The film was directed by Rob Spera from a screenplay written by Jody Savin.

The film starred Anat Topol, Gary Sloan, Mary Shelley, Elizabeth Stocton, Deborah Scott, Alexander Kirkwood, Lee Kissman, and Ross Newton. The film was released on video in 1988, and re-released October 15, 1997, on DVD.

Witchcraft (band)

Witchcraft is a Swedish hard rock/ heavy metal band founded in 2000.

Witchcraft (Witchcraft album)

Witchcraft is the debut album from the Swedish doom metal band Witchcraft. The album was released in 2004 by Rise Above Records. "Please Don't Forget Me" and "Yes I Do" are both covers of 70s-era Pentagram. "Yes I Do" appears on the original LP version and the Japanese press; it does not appear on the picture disc. "Please Don't Forget Me" is credited to Bobbly Liebling on the sleeve and is often mis-accredited to Liebling's pre-Pentagram outfit, Stone Bunny. The cover image is a slightly altered version of a print called Merlin, a pen-and-ink drawing by Aubrey Beardsley for an 1893-94 edition of Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. Additionally, the band formed to be a one-off tribute band to both Bobby Liebling and Roky Erickson, and only intended to make one song (No Angel or Demon) however, they continued and are now an original band.

Witchcraft (1957 song)

"Witchcraft" is a popular song from 1957 composed by Cy Coleman with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. It was released as a single by Frank Sinatra, and reached number twenty in the U.S., spending sixteen weeks on the charts.

Composed as an instrumental piece by Coleman for the revue Take Five, lyrics were added by Leigh, and "Witchcraft" was subsequently recorded by Sinatra in May 1957, in an arrangement by Nelson Riddle.

Elvis Presley sang this song in The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis.

Witchcraft (Stormwitch album)

Witchcraft was the ninth album by the German heavy metal band Stormwitch, released in 2004. The album sees a further expansion on the new style, first shown in "Dance With The Witches", with a prominent use of keyboards that gave a much more symphonic sound. This was the last album to feature this lineup as all members except for Andy Mück have since left the band. Again, remaining the only original member.

An extract of a video for "Fallen From God" can be viewed on Stormwitch's website. It does not state whether a full version exists for viewing or not.

Witchcraft (1964 film)

Witchcraft is a 1964 British black and white horror film. It was directed by Don Sharp from a script by Harry Spalding. It stars Lon Chaney Jr. in one of his last proper acting roles.

Witchcraft (disambiguation)

Witchcraft is a supposed supernatural means of malevolent or harmful magic.

Witchcraft or witch may also refer to:

  • the practice of magic in general
    • Maleficium (sorcery)
    • White witch
  • a supposed pre-Christian religion as advocated by Murray and Gardner, see Witch Cult
    • contemporary Witchcraft in neopaganism
    • Stregheria, an 18th-century Italian version of the theory
    • Wicca, the neopagan religion based on Gardner's 1954 claims of a Witchcraft religion
  • colloquially or figuratively, of certain aspects of the female gender role
Witchcraft (Pendulum song)

"Witchcraft" is the second single from Australian drum and bass band Pendulum from their third studio album, Immersion. It was released as a digital single on iTunes on 18 July 2010, with the CD single being released the following day. It debuted at number sixty-two on the UK Singles Chart following high amounts of downloads from the release of the album. The music video was shot on 2 June 2010 and finished on 25 June, as confirmed by Rob Swire's Twitter feed. The single includes a drumstep mix by Rob Swire, remixes by drum and bass DJs and producers John B and Netsky, and a remix by house DJ and producer Chuckie. An exclusive video of Witchcraft was placed on the Pendulum members section "The Other Side". The single artwork shares a similarity with the artwork for Pendulum's debut album, Hold Your Colour. The song is used in many sport montages one of which being the end of season review by the BBC for the 2010/11 Formula One season. An excerpt from the song was used in the video game WRC: FIA World Rally Championship.

Witchcraft (Obtained Enslavement album)

Witchcraft is a studio album by Obtained Enslavement, released in 1997.

Witchcraft (Book of Love song)

"Witchcraft" is the seventh single released by the American synthpop band Book of Love. The song was the third, and final single from the band's second album Lullaby, and was released on July 15, 1989.

"Witchcraft" was the only single from the album Lullaby that failed to make the Billboard charts. The track samples the classic 60's TV series Bewitched, and also chants the names of the witches/characters from the show..."Enchantra, Endora, Tabitha, Esmerelda, Clara, Hagatha". The song features quirky deadpan rap-style vocals from Susan Ottaviano, Jade Lee, and Lauren Roselli, with a Shakespeare-inspired incanting of ingredients for brewing a love potion.

The B-side "Enchantra" is a completely different composition, aside from the fact that it uses the chant of Bewitched character names from "Witchcraft".

The cover art of the 12" was done by band members Lauren Roselli and Jade Lee. It consists of a picture of a Play-Doh "queen" (done by Lauren Roselli), with refrigerator magnet lettering of the band's name and song title. Female names included as part of the back cover artwork (Enchantra, Hagatha, Clara, Endora, and Esmeralda) come from the song's chorus. The witches named in the song's chorus are all named as a part of the back cover art except Tabitha. The cover sleeve was featured in the 2011 book Put The Needle On The Record by Matthew Chojnacki, which celebrated the vinyl sleeves of records from the 1980s.

During the band's Lullaby Tour in 1989, when performing "Witchcraft", the band donned witches' hats, making it a fan favorite of the band's live shows.

"Enchantra" has been used as the intro track while the band takes to the stage during Book of Love's 2013 shows.

Witchcraft (Claire Martin and Richard Rodney Bennett album)

Witchcraft is a 2010 studio album by Claire Martin and Richard Rodney Bennett.

Witchcraft (1916 film)

Witchcraft is a lost 1916 American drama silent film directed by Frank Reicher and written by Margaret Turnbull. The film stars Fannie Ward, Jack Dean, Paul Weigel and Lillian Leighton. The film was released on October 16, 1916, by Paramount Pictures.

Witchcraft (1955 song)

Witchcraft is a song composed by Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King which was an R&B hit in 1955 for The Spiders which was covered in 1963 by Elvis Presley.

Usage examples of "witchcraft".

They constitute the E-ser-e or ordeal beans of the negroes of Old Calabar, being administered to persons accused of witchcraft or other crimes.

A witch, charged with the hiding and protection of the Clachan Fala, stole the stone through witchcraft, to keep safe until a Graham and a Maxwell of the proper graynes joined again in a worthy union.

I was enmeshed in a crazy, fantastic cobwebbery of magic and witchcraft.

That he himself was by no means free from superstition is proved by the fact that the condemnation of two unfortunate women, Amy Duny and Rose Cullender, for witchcraft at Norwich in 1664 was aided by his professional evidence.

I tell you, sirs, there have been more delations to the Presbytery for the sin of witchcraft in Woodilee than in any other parish on the water of Aller.

Anthony Berkeley sponsoring her into the Detection Gub in 1933, and introducing her to the fascinations of witchcraft.

The edifice was very old, antedating the general white settlement of the region, and had formed the home of a strange and secretive family named van der Heyl, which had migrated from Albany in 1746 under a curious cloud of witchcraft suspicion.

She and Madame Lorretta had served time together in Hollo way for offences of a heretical nature, which are still covered by the otherwise repealed Witchcraft Act of 1572.

They have been associated with witchcraft, and the symbols resemble some of the ogam symbols of the druids.

Nanny Ogg said was doing very well, and that was witchcraft too, and then in an out-of-the-way group of huddled little cottages, they climbed the cramped wooden stairs to a tiny little bedroom where an old man shot at them with a crossbow.

Bishop guilty of the charges, but the Court of Oyer and Terminer could not impose a sentence because the General Court had not yet met to confirm the statute against witchcraft.

On June 30, Sarah Good, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth How, Sarah Wildes, and Rebecca Nurse faced a Court of Oyer and Terminer that had sorted out the questions concerning proper evidence and was ready to deal firmly with the escalating threat of witchcraft.

He took a leading part in defending a woman accused of witchcraft in the back-end, and--though it seems that the witch-pricker was a poor creature with some irregularities in his conduct--yet it cannot be denied that the words and doings of the man Mark Riddel on that occasion gave great offence to godly folk in Woodilee, and led to the just suspicion that he himself had meddled with unlawful matters.

Discoverie of Witchcraft, wherein the Lewde dealing of Witches and Witchmongers is notably detected .

She had guessed that someone would visit her about witchcraft after overhearing conversations among some children who said she afflicted and troubled people.