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Witch vs Itch - What's the difference?

witch | itch |

As nouns the difference between witch and itch

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 itch is a sensation felt on an area of the skin that causes a person or animal to want to scratch.

As verbs the difference between witch and itch

is that witch is (obsolete) to practise witchcraft while itch is to feel itchy; to feel a need to be scratched.

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

    See also

    (other terms of interest) * athame * black magic * channelling * chiromancer * coven * crystal ball * curse * enchantment * familiar * fortuneteller * galdur * grimoire * hex * hoodoo * jinx * lamia * medium * necromancy * occultism * palmist * poppet * Sabbath * Satanism * scry * shaman * sorcery * spell * talisman * tarot * warlock * wicca * wizard

    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

    itch

    English

    (wikipedia itch)

    Alternative forms

    * (noun) (l), (l), (l) (in Scotland)

    Noun

    (es)
  • A sensation felt on an area of the skin that causes a person or animal to want to scratch.
  • A desire or want.
  • *

    • Derived terms

    * barber's itch * itchy * jock itch * seven-year itch

    Verb

    (es)
  • To feel itchy; to feel a need to be scratched.
  • *
    • Capulet: ... Speak not, reply not, do not answer me; / My fingers itch . Wife, we scarce thought us blest / That God had lent us but this only child; / But now I see this one is one too much, / And that we have a curse in having her: / Out on her, hilding!
  • To want or desire.
    • He started learning to drive and he has been itching for opportunities to practice ever since.
  • To cause to feel an itch.
  • (colloquial) To scratch or rub so as to relieve an itch.
  • * 2002 , M D Huddleston, Missing Paige :
    • "What makes you suspect him?" Max asked as he itched his neck.
  • * 2002 January 4, "Cyd" (username), Itching'', in alt.support.mult-sclerosis, ''Usenet :
    • I have to take both shoes and socks off! If I go bare foot I'm ok! I also get itching on my r/palm of my hand. I itch it so much that it's raw!
  • * 2003 November 21, "Jim Patterson" (username), Behavior Therapy for Itchy Clothes?'', in alt.support.ocd, ''Usenet :
    • Basically I go through a half hour of trying to figure out of it is an fake OCD itch or a regular itch before I itch it (if I determine it's a "fake" itch, then I try not to itch it).
  • * 2003 , Ray Emerson, The Riddle of Cthulhu :
    • Ulysses thumped his side and itched his back side, then slipped into his car.
  • * 2004 , Philip Smucker, Al Qaeda's Great Escape: The Military and the Media on Terror's Trail :
    • But when we asked more about the famous man whose specter still commanded the heights, the guard just sneered at me, pointed his gun back toward the road with one hand, and itched his chin with the other.

    Derived terms

    * make one's teeth itch

    Anagrams

    * *