Etymology of Wizard and Sorcery
January 22nd 2009 02:04
The word 'wizard' has been used a lot in fantasy and even in some fairy tales and fables. What I've always wanted to know was when this word came about, and what it meant in its original usage.
The word 'wizard' started around the year 1440, and was used as another word for a philosopher, or a sage. It stemmed from the Middle English word "wys," or "wise." The -ard part of the word was actually a suffix used for many other words, and it denoted that that person was good at that skill, or a practicer of it. Now it is mostly used pejoratively, as in words like 'coward' and 'dullard.' So, back then, a wizard, or wys-ard, was simply someone who was very wise and/or engaged in philosophy a lot.
It wasn't until around a hundred years later--1550--that the word came to denote someone with magical power. In the Middle Ages, the distinction between philosophy and magic was sort of blurred. So philosophers were seen as being sort of magical in the way they thought. This early meaning seems to have stuck around, since wizards are still portrayed as philosophical and learned old men, most of the time.
Now the word 'sorcery,' which in modern usage is synonymous with 'magic,' has a different history than might be expected. The word itself is not derived from the word for 'magic.' It is derived from the Old French word 'sorcerie,' which itself derived from 'sorcier,' or sorcerer. So sorcery itself never derived from some notion of magic, but rather from the word denoting the person who used it.
But, the word 'sorcerer' had its own interesting meanings. It derived from the Latin word 'sortiarus' which literally meant 'one who influences fate or fortune.' Also, an interesting tidbit is that the word 'sorceress' is actually older than 'sorcerer'--the first originating around 1384, the second beginning around 1526. This is probably in keeping with old Roman mythology about mythical female figures, such as the Fates, who did 'influence fate or fortune.'
So, sorcery and sorcerer are older words than 'wizard,' but they meant different things, since in the originating days of 'sorcery/sorcerer' the concept of magic hadn't really come about yet. Nowadays there doesn't seem to be much--if any--distinction between words like wizard and sorcerer and magic and sorcery. But if you want to get technical about it, a sorcerer and his sorcery were more about telling the future and messing with fate and fortune than magic spells.
Hope this was an interesting lesson in Fantasy etymology. Tomorrow I'll talk about The Thousandfold Thought, the final book in R. Scott Bakker's 'The Prince of Nothing,' Good night everyone!
The word 'wizard' started around the year 1440, and was used as another word for a philosopher, or a sage. It stemmed from the Middle English word "wys," or "wise." The -ard part of the word was actually a suffix used for many other words, and it denoted that that person was good at that skill, or a practicer of it. Now it is mostly used pejoratively, as in words like 'coward' and 'dullard.' So, back then, a wizard, or wys-ard, was simply someone who was very wise and/or engaged in philosophy a lot.
It wasn't until around a hundred years later--1550--that the word came to denote someone with magical power. In the Middle Ages, the distinction between philosophy and magic was sort of blurred. So philosophers were seen as being sort of magical in the way they thought. This early meaning seems to have stuck around, since wizards are still portrayed as philosophical and learned old men, most of the time.
Now the word 'sorcery,' which in modern usage is synonymous with 'magic,' has a different history than might be expected. The word itself is not derived from the word for 'magic.' It is derived from the Old French word 'sorcerie,' which itself derived from 'sorcier,' or sorcerer. So sorcery itself never derived from some notion of magic, but rather from the word denoting the person who used it.
But, the word 'sorcerer' had its own interesting meanings. It derived from the Latin word 'sortiarus' which literally meant 'one who influences fate or fortune.' Also, an interesting tidbit is that the word 'sorceress' is actually older than 'sorcerer'--the first originating around 1384, the second beginning around 1526. This is probably in keeping with old Roman mythology about mythical female figures, such as the Fates, who did 'influence fate or fortune.'
So, sorcery and sorcerer are older words than 'wizard,' but they meant different things, since in the originating days of 'sorcery/sorcerer' the concept of magic hadn't really come about yet. Nowadays there doesn't seem to be much--if any--distinction between words like wizard and sorcerer and magic and sorcery. But if you want to get technical about it, a sorcerer and his sorcery were more about telling the future and messing with fate and fortune than magic spells.
Hope this was an interesting lesson in Fantasy etymology. Tomorrow I'll talk about The Thousandfold Thought, the final book in R. Scott Bakker's 'The Prince of Nothing,' Good night everyone!
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