unwitchv.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈwɪtʃ/, U.S. /ˌənˈwɪtʃ/ transitive. To free from witchcraft; to remove a spell from (someone or something); to set free from enchantment, to disenchant. Also reflexive. Also sometimes intransitive. Cf. unbewitch v.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [verb (transitive)] > disenchant
unwitch1571
unbewitch?1572
disenchant1590
uncharm1621
discharm1634
unspell1635
disconjure1644
unmagic1650
disencharm1651
unenchant1654
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [verb (intransitive)] > disenchant
discharm1480
unwitch1582
uncharm1779
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [verb (reflexive)] > disenchant
unwitch1601
1571 Dict. French & Eng. sig. K/2 Desensoroeler, to vnwitch.
1582 W. W. True & Iust Recorde Witches sig. A2 And to that Ursley made answere, though shee coulde vnwitche shee coulde not witche.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 296 Even the very serpents as they may bee burst by enchauntment, so they can unwitch themselves.
1764 S. Foote Mayor of Garret ii. 41 Mrs. Sneak. Why the fellow is surely bewitch'd. Sneak. No, I am unwitch'd, and that you shall know to your cost.
1811 Glasgow Mag. Dec. 627 Terrified at the idea of having such unhallowed visitors about his house, he despatched a messenger for a wizard..to come for the love of God to unwitch him and his family.
1927 Amer. Mercury Jan. 73/1 Protestants don't know how to witch and they don't know how to unwitch.
2004 S. Hoyle in W. de Blécourt & O. Davies Witchcraft Continued iii. 60 The prosecution had to prove that James Tunnicliff had solicited and received payment for unwitching the Charlesworths.
Derivatives
ˌunˈwitching n. the removal of a spell from someone or something; disenchantment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [noun] > freeing or deliverance from enchantment
disenchanting1620
disenchantment1620
disincantation1652
unwitching1655
unspelling1897
1655 T. Ady Candle in Dark ii. 111 A Witch can send a Devil into men and cattel to afflict them; and a good Witch can cast them out by unwitching.
1854 Raleigh (North Carolina) Reg. 27 Sept. 1/3 Mr. Collins professes to be skilful in ‘the knowledge of unwitching’, and..exorcises people.
2007 Encycl. Sex & Gender IV. 1540/2 Belief in witchcraft and the practice of unwitching persisted in some rural areas of Europe and its colonies, in some cases into the early twenty-first century.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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