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war·lock

(wôrlŏk′)

n. pl. war·locks

A person, especially a man, claiming or popularly believed to practice sorcery or witchcraft.

[From Scots warlock (generalized in English from literary use by Scottish authors and replacing Early Modern English warlow), from alteration (with -ok for Middle English -ow as in Scots elbok, elbow, and windok, window) of Middle English warloghe, warlow, from Old English wǣrloga, oath-breaker : wǣr, pledge; see wērə-o- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + -loga, liar (from lēogan, to lie; see leugh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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