Wrizzit

C Alan Morgan(he/him)·Apr 9, 2026

The German word for witch is Hexe (HEK-suh) The Pennsylvania Dutch shortened the word to Hex, and it is used as both a noun and a verb. So, a person who uses dark magic is a hex, and they hex people by casting a hex. You have to appreciate German efficiency. A Pennsylvania Dutch variant of the word is Wedderhex (VED-er-heks), which could simply mean a witch, or a specific type of witch that specializes in weather based magic. Edit to add: The German word for a male witch is apparently Hexenmeister, which just sounds cool.

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Foox5h

I love this daily tidbit and info dump on Pennsylvania Dutch and German witch lore

2

Foox5h

Also Hexenmiester does just sound really cool

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C Alan Morgan4h

Powwowing is also a term used by the Pennsylvania Dutch for folk magic/healing, and yes, it is a Native American loan word. The more you know right?

2

Foox4h

Very cool, adding more information I'll never use to the codex

3

Hughes4h

Wait, what?

1

C Alan Morgan4h

What what?

1

Hughes4h

I just think it’s interesting that hex just comes from part of the German word for witch, as if all witches practice dark magic. That’s the what.

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C Alan Morgan4h

There is separate term for good magic in Pennsylvanian Dutch, Braucherei en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braucherei

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Tim in the Boonies2h

One is inspired to become a hexenmeister just to use the word hexenmeister.