A warlock is a term for male witches, though most men in contemporary Witchcraft prefer to be called Witches or Wiccans like their female counterparts. The word has negative connotations; it stems from the old Anglo-Saxon word waerloga, which means traitor, deceiver or liar. Traditionally, a warlock is a sorcerer or Wizard who has gained supernatural power and knowledge through a Devil’s Pact. (Such pacts are not part of contemporary Witchcraft.) Since the revival of Witchcraft in the 1950s, few Witches have referred to male Witches as warlocks; Sybil Leek once commented that use of the word was a rarity, except among outsiders.
SOURCE:
The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca – written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley – Copyright © 1989, 1999, 2008 by Visionary Living, Inc.
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