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1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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• Warlock
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1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Warlock

a wizard, sorcerer or magician (see Magic). The word in O. Eng. is wchrloga, literally "a liar against the truth," from w/er, truth, cognate with Lat. verism (cf. Ger. wahr), and loga, liar, from Mogan, to lie (cf. Ger. liigen). It was thus used with the meaning of a traitor, deceiver, a breaker of a truce. In M. Eng. it is found as a name for the devil (warloghe), the arch liar and deceiver. The use of the word for a sorcerer or wizard, one whose magic powers are gained by his league with the devil, seems to be a northern English or Scottish use.