Mage, Witch, Warlock, Wizard, Sorcerer.
Don’t they all basically do the same thing? They say a spell and that’s magic. But I’m confused and I’m dragging you down with me 😛
According to Oxford Dictionaries and my good friend since my Google Blogger blog, Wikipedia…
mage
A magician or learned person.
(Oxford Dictionaries)
Now, what is a learned person? Could any learned person be a mage? Like say, a professional volleyball player. They are learned, aren’t they? Could they be a mage?
A mage is… a practitioner of magic, the ability to attain objectives or acquire knowledge or wisdom using supernatural means.
(Wikipedia)
Wiki had other definitions but I chose that one that says “Magician (paranormal)”.
witch
A woman thought to have magic powers, especially evil ones, popularly depicted as wearing a black cloak and pointed hat and flying on a broomstick.
or
An edible North Atlantic flatfish.
(Oxford Dictionaries)
Most commonly probably NOT the latter.
A witch is…one that is credited with usually malignant supernatural powers; especially: a woman practicing usually black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil or familiar : sorceress – compare warlock
(Wikipedia)
Basically both Oxford Dictionaries and Wiki agree on the definition of witch: witches are evil.
warlock
A man who practices witchcraft; a sorcerer.
(Oxford Dictionaries)
Okay, so a warlock is a male witch. That would contradict with the “Harry Potter” series because I remember the contrast was between a witch and a wizard, not a warlock.
A warlock is a male practitioner of evil magic (distinguished from a wizard or sorcerer, whose magic may be benign).
(Wikipedia)
This definition makes sense because we know a witch is evil. So the male equivalent would also be evil.
wizard
(in legends and fairy tales) a man who has magical powers.
(Oxford Dictionaries)
This definition specifically reminds us that wizards are fictional. Idk why Oxford Dictionaries is worried about our sanity.
A wizard is just a man with magical powers. Doesn’t sound synonymous to “warlock” which is a man who “practices witchcraft”.
Wait, so if you practice witchcraft, you don’t have magical powers?
A wizard is… a practitioner of magic.
(Wikipedia)
Again I selected “Wizard (paranormal)” from their list of definitions. Wikipedia chooses to be non-gender specific.
sorcerer
A person who claims or is believed to have magic powers; a wizard.
(Oxford Dictionaries)
Now they’re saying a PERSON. Non-gender specific. Just any normal person.
But they are also saying it can be a wizard, which is gender-specific.
They also said, a warlock is a sorcerer.
A sorcerer is… a practitioner of magic, the ability to attain objectives or acquire knowledge or wisdom using supernatural means
(Wikipedia)
For the definition of sorcerer, I was given the definition of magician (paranormal) which is the same one for mage. This would mean, in Wiki’s eyes, a sorcerer and a mage are the same thing.
So…
Warlock = Sorcerer
Sorcerer = Wizard
That makes warlock and wizard synonymous no matter what anyone else says. So that means a warlock and a wizard are the same thing. Right?
But then Wiki says,
Sorcerer = Mage
Warlock = Witch
Wizard is just someone who does magic so you could say a “learned person” is a wizard as well. That means Mage = Wizard if you combine Wiki and Oxford.
Conclusion?
Witch is evil. (I know people who practice Wicca are called witches sometimes. I’m NOT saying you’re evil. I’m only following the fantasy-fiction definition.)
Mage is a learned person.
Sorcerer, Wizard, and Warlock are all basically the same thing.
Wikipedia and Oxford Dictionaries are both confus.
I think.
FOXWOOD FOREST 