Witch vs Ditch - What's the difference?

As nouns the difference between witch and ditch

is that witch is a person who practices witchcraft; specifically: or witch can be a cone of paper which is placed in a vessel of lard or other fat and used as a taper while ditch is or ditch can be a trench; a long, shallow indentation, as for irrigation or drainage.

As verbs the difference between witch and ditch

is that witch is (obsolete) to practise witchcraft while ditch is or ditch can be to discard or abandon.

witch

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) wicche, from (etyl) .

Noun

(es)

A person who practices witchcraft; specifically:

#A woman who is learned in and actively practices witchcraft.

#*(rfdate) Shakespeare:

#*:He cannot abide the old woman of Brentford; he swears she's a witch .

#(label) A Wiccan.

# A man who practices witchcraft.

#*:

#*:Some of the kynges had merueyl of Merlyns wordes and demed well that it shold be as he said / And som of hem lough hym to scorne / as kyng Lot / and mo other called hym a wytche / But thenne were they accorded with Merlyn that kynge Arthur shold come oute and speke with the kynges

#*(rfdate) Wyclif Bible (Acts viii. 9)

#*:There was a man in that city whose name was Simon, a witch .

(label) An ugly or unpleasant woman.

:(Shakespeare)

One who exercises more-than-common power of attraction; a charming or bewitching person.

One given to mischief, especially a woman or child.

(label) A certain curve of the third order, described by Maria Agnesi under the name versiera .

The stormy petrel.

Any of a number of flatfish:

# (Torbay sole), found in the North Atlantic.

# (megrim), found in the North Atlantic.

#, found near New Zealand.

Synonyms

* (female magic user) wizardess, sorceress * (male magic user) wizard, sorcerer, warlock * (an ugly or unpleasant woman) See ,

Derived terms

(terms derived from witch) * bewitch * cold as a witch's tit * man-witch * nonwitch * witch ball * witchcraft * witch doctor * witches' brew * witches' knickers * witches' Sabbath * witchfinder * witch grass * witch hazel * witch-hunt * witching hour * witchy

External links

* (projectlink) * (Arnoglossus scapha) * (Arnoglossus scapha)

Verb

(es)

(obsolete) To practise witchcraft

'It approaches the witching hour'.

To bewitch

To dowse for water

Derived terms

* witcher

Etymology 2

Compare wick.

Noun

(es)

A cone of paper which is placed in a vessel of lard or other fat and used as a taper.

English terms with homophones

ditch

English

Etymology 1

From earlier deche, from (etyl) dechen, from (etyl) .

Verb

(es)

Noun

(en-noun)

Etymology 2

From (etyl) dich, from (etyl) .

Noun

(es)

A trench; a long, shallow indentation, as for irrigation or drainage.

Digging ditches has long been considered one of the most demanding forms of manual labor.

Derived terms

* ditchdigger * ditch weed * ditcher * ox is in the ditch

Verb

To discard or abandon.

Once the sun came out we ditched our rain-gear and started a campfire.

To deliberately crash-land an airplane on the sea.

When the second engine failed, the pilot was forced to ditch ; their last location was just south of the Azores.

To deliberately not attend classes; to play hookey.

The truant officer caught Louise ditching with her friends, and her parents were forced to pay a fine.

To dig ditches.

Enclosure led to fuller winter employment in hedging and ditching .

To dig ditches around.

The soldiers ditched the tent to prevent flooding.

To throw into a ditch.

The engine was ditched and turned on its side.

Synonyms

* abandon * discard * dump * jettison * lose * shed * See also