Etymograph

English

bewitch

Bewitch comes from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to sift, separate’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-1‘to sift, separate’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bewicchen1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1648bewitch1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English bewitch
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1648, Robert Herrick, Delight in Disorder: “A Svveet diſorder in the dreſſe / Kindles in…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-Wiktionary, English bewitch‘to sift, separate’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bewicchenWiktionary, English bewitch
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1648bewitchWiktionary, English bewitch. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1648, Robert Herrick, Delight in Disorder: “A Svveet diſorder in the dreſſe / Kindles in…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to sift, separate’

victory, victim, province, convince, weakness, victor, icon, conviction, wicked, wo, convict, invincible, eviction, vicar, weakly, wight, evict, witchcraft, vanquish, ancona, waw, wile, 32 more

Today it means

verb To cast a spell upon.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bewitch”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weyk- / bewitch

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