witching

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English

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English wicching, wicchand, equivalent to witch +‎ -ing.

Adjective

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witching (comparative more witching, superlative most witching)

  1. Of or pertaining to witchcraft or sorcery, or to witches or sorcerers.
    • a. 1822 (date written), John Keats, “[Supplementary Verses.] A Prophecy: To George Keats in America.”, in [Horace Elisha Scudder], editor, The Complete Poetical Works and Letters of John Keats, Cambridge edition, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company [], published 1899, →OCLC, page 249, column 1:
      'Tis the witching time of night, / Orbed is the moon and bright, / And the Stars they glisten, glisten, / Seeming with bright eyes to listen.
  2. Of a person: having the power to bewitch someone or something.
  3. (archaic) Bewitching, enchanting.
    • 1859, Ferna Vale, Natalie; or, A Gem Among the Sea-Weeds:
      But who is this witching beauty by his side, who would fain impress you with a belief that that mischief which will not remain concealed for the briefest period, is not her entire composition?
Derived terms
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Verb

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witching

  1. present participle and gerund of witch

Etymology 2

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From Middle English wicchinge, from Old English wiċċung (witching, witchcraft), equivalent to witch +‎ -ing.

Noun

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witching (plural witchings)

  1. gerund of witch: an act of witchcraft.
    • 2002, Christine Gentry, When Spirits Walk, page 28:
      There was a lot of information to draw upon because his occupation exposed him to more witchings every month than most individuals experienced in a life time.
Derived terms
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Anagrams

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