hag

Definition

A witch, sorceress, or enchantress; a female wizard.

Etymology

From Middle English hagge, hegge (“demon, old woman”), shortening of Old English hægtesse, hægtes (“harpy, witch”), from Proto-West Germanic *hagatussjā. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Häkse (“witch”), Dutch heks, German Hexe (“witch”). Doublet of hex.

Example Sentences

• "And that olde hag that with a staffe his staggering lymbes dooth stay"
• "Such unaccountable masses of shades and shadows, that at first you almost thought some ambitious young artist, in the time of the New England hags, had endeavored to delineate chaos bewitched."
• "The elder women were literally "old hags" - lean and shrivelled, and excessively ugly."