witch : Idioms & Phrases


Mountain witch

  • (Zoöl.), a ground pigeon of Jamaica, of the genus Geotrygon.
Webster 1913

Night witch

  • . Same as Night hag, above.
Webster 1913

old witch grass

  • noun North American grass with slender brushy panicles; often a weed on cultivated land
    old witchgrass; tumble grass; witchgrass; Panicum capillare; old witch grass.
WordNet

Silver witch

  • (Zoöl.), A lepisma.
Webster 1913

vernal witch hazel

  • noun fragrant shrub of lower Mississippi valley having very small flowers from midwinter to spring
    Hamamelis vernalis.
WordNet

virginian witch hazel

  • noun common shrub of eastern North America having small yellow flowers after the leaves have fallen
    Hamamelis virginiana.
WordNet

water witch

  • noun someone who uses a divining rod to find underground water
    rhabdomancer; dowser.
WordNet
Wa"ter witch`
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) (a) The dabchick. (b) The stormy petrel. Prov. Eng.
Webster 1913

White witch

  • a witch or wizard whose supernatural powers are supposed to be exercised for good and beneficent purposes. Addison. Cotton Mather.
Webster 1913

witch alder

  • noun any of several deciduous low-growing shrubs of the genus Fothergilla having showy brushlike spikes of white flowers in spring and fiery red and orange autumn color; grows from Alabama to the Allegheny Mountains
    fothergilla.
WordNet

Witch balls

  • a name applied to the interwoven rolling masses of the stems of herbs, which are driven by the winds over the steppes of Tartary. Cf. Tumbleweed. Maunder (Treas. of Bot.)
Webster 1913

witch broom

  • noun an abnormal tufted growth of small branches on a tree or shrub caused by fungi or insects or other physiological disturbance
    witch broom; staghead; hexenbesen.
WordNet

witch doctor

  • noun someone who is believed to heal through magical powers
WordNet

witch elm

  • noun Eurasian elm often planted as a shade tree
    Ulmus glabra; wych elm.
WordNet

Witch grass

  • noun North American grass with slender brushy panicles; often a weed on cultivated land
    old witchgrass; tumble grass; witchgrass; Panicum capillare; old witch grass.
  • noun European grass spreading rapidly by creeping rhizomes; naturalized in North America as a weed
    dog grass; Agropyron repens; quack grass; witchgrass; quackgrass; quick grass; couch grass.
WordNet
  • (Bot.), a kind of grass (Panicum capillare) with minute spikelets on long, slender pedicels forming a light, open panicle.
Webster 1913

witch hazel

  • noun any of several shrubs or trees of the genus Hamamelis; bark yields an astringent lotion
    witch hazel; wych hazel; wych hazel plant.
  • noun lotion consisting of an astringent alcoholic solution containing an extract from the witch hazel plant
    wych hazel.
WordNet

witch hazel plant

  • noun any of several shrubs or trees of the genus Hamamelis; bark yields an astringent lotion
    witch hazel; wych hazel; wych hazel plant.
WordNet

Witch meal

  • (Bot.), vegetable sulphur. See under Vegetable.
Webster 1913

witch's brew

  • noun a fearsome mixture
    witch's brew; witches' brew.
    • a witches' brew of gangsters and terrorists
    • mixing dope and alcohol creates a witches' brew
WordNet

witch-elm

Witch"-elm` noun
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) See Wych-elm.
Webster 1913

witch-hazel

Witch"-ha`zel noun
Etymology
See Wych-elm, and Hazel.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) The wych-elm. (b) An American shrub or small tree (Hamamelis Virginica), which blossoms late in autumn.
Webster 1913

witch-hazel family

  • noun comprises genera Hamamelis, Corylopsis, Fothergilla, Liquidambar, Parrotia, and other small genera
    Hamamelidaceae; family Hamamelidaceae.
WordNet

witch-hunt

  • noun searching out and harassing dissenters
WordNet

witch-hunter

  • noun someone who identifies and punishes people for their opinions
WordNet

witch-tree

Witch"-tree` noun
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) The witch-hazel.
Webster 1913

Witches' besoms

  • (Bot.), tufted and distorted branches of the silver fir, caused by the attack of some fungus. Maunder (Treas. of Bot.)
Webster 1913

witches' brew

  • noun a fearsome mixture
    witch's brew; witches' brew.
    • a witches' brew of gangsters and terrorists
    • mixing dope and alcohol creates a witches' brew
WordNet

witches' broom

  • noun an abnormal tufted growth of small branches on a tree or shrub caused by fungi or insects or other physiological disturbance
    witch broom; staghead; hexenbesen.
WordNet

witches' broth

  • noun a fearsome mixture
    witch's brew; witches' brew.
    • a witches' brew of gangsters and terrorists
    • mixing dope and alcohol creates a witches' brew
WordNet

Witches' butter

  • noun a yellow jelly fungus
    Tremella lutescens.
WordNet
  • (Bot.), a name of several gelatinous cryptogamous plants, as Nostoc commune, and Exidia glandulosa. See Nostoc.
Webster 1913

witches' sabbath

  • noun a midnight meeting of witches to practice witchcraft and sorcery; in the Middle Ages it was supposed to be a demonic orgy
    sabbat.
WordNet