Subj : Cute To : All From : ceri@twmba.net Date : Sun Nov 02 2003 05:42 pm From: Ceri ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Me again, I've no idea if this is true of not. The person who sent it to me will send a followup in his attempts to track this down. But still... Rai who loves the "non-Abrahamic" comment... -------- Original Message -------- I complained to Miriam Webster about their definitions regarding witch craft. My letter to them was....." Subject: misleading or false definition I thought it is terribly biased that your definition of withcraft is 'the power of witches', see Sorcery and then the definition of Sorcery is 'power gained from Evil spirits'. So in a nutshell you are telling children that witches are evil. I understand that the mythical creature that early christians depicted as a witch is supposed to be evil or malevolent but there is a HUGE revival of pre-christian religions. Many of the practitioners call themselves witches due to the early Christian Churches accusing people who were different of being witches. Many have ditched that word due to the negative connotations and chose terminology with less of a stigma, ie. Shaman. Please look up Wicca or Paganism on any search engine, you'll see what I mean and just how many nice witches there are! There are several traditions to look up too. Alexandrian,Asatru (Germanic), Celtic Witchcraft,Strega (Italian),Romuva (Lithuanian), Dievturiba(Latvian), Gardnerian, Green Wicca, Dianic Wicca, Hermetic Orders like the Golden Dawn, Freemasonry, Rosicrucians. All alive and well in this modern day age! " Their response was.... >>Thank you for writing to Merriam-Webster. I am sorry about the delayed response; a pressing editorial deadline kept me from my correspondence for several weeks. As a practicing Wiccan and a member of the pagan community, I can fully appreciate your concern regarding the definition of witch available through WordCentral. The issue of "negative" definitions becomes especially pressing in reference materials directed toward young people. The book upon which the WordCentral dictionary is based, our Intermediate Dictionary, is coming due for revision. The recent editions of our Collegiate Dictionary have already addressed the problem of the witch-related definitions, making a clear distinction between modern neo-pagans and the medieval or "gothic" witch. I have personally requested that these changes be carried over into our School Dictionary line. I should say that I do not have the authority to enforce my suggestions, but our current staff has shown itself to be committed to fair representation of words concerning non-Abrahamic religions. This being said, it is not likely that the cross-reference to sorcery will be eliminated. Rather, my suggestion requests that it be separated into a second, distinct sense. The reason for this is rooted in our philosophy as a publisher of dictionaries: Merriam-Webster takes a descriptive approach to lexicography, which is to say that we strive to make our dictionaries a reflection of the way the English language is actually used, historically and currently. This can be contrasted to prescriptive lexicography, in which definitions are crafted according to what the editor thinks the words should mean, regardless of actual usage. In most cases this philosophy has served us well, keeping Merriam- Webster dictionaries both accurate and relevant. Occasionally, though, "common usage" will itself reflect the biases and prejudices of society. And, as you well know, society has for many centuries held a deeply negative view of what they called a "witch." The use of witchcraft in the vast majority of texts ranging back to the roots of the English language equates it with our definition of sorcery: use of powers obtained through dealings with evil spirits. As you note in your message, many modern neo-pagans (myself among them) have chosen to "reclaim" witch and its derivatives, words bearing many centuries of stigma. In effect, they are adding a new, "positive" sense to an old, "negative" word. I certainly agree that a responsible dictionary should record this change in the language (as Merriam-Webster has in the Tenth and Eleventh editions of the Collegiate Dictionary). Unfortunately, this does nothing to erase or eliminate the more established usage of the word. Despite the word's new, additional sense, witchcraft can still be very accurately defined and used as synonymous to sorcery; this usage exists in many historical texts which are in use today, and it continues to be spoken and written with this meaning by a large proportion of the population. Perhaps pagan education and tolerance campaigns can eventually bring about some change in common usage, but until such time it is the dictionary's duty to record meaning as we find it, not as we wish it to be. As a relevant side-note, I should also say that witchcraft is also used in many completely non-Christian/non-neo-pagan contexts as the word denoting evil or hostile magic, as distinguished from mainstream religious practice (whether in Voudoun, Santeria, or any of a myriad of non-Christian faiths, each has their own sanctioned priests or "good" magic workers and the maligned magician or "witch" who exists outside the established order). It is true that the word used in this context is most likely a borrowing from the edieval/Christian sense, but it now exists independently. As such, the definition of witchcraft as sorcery remains current in a sense that is completely unrelated to the mainstream of the neo-pagan movement (religious cross-fertilization notwithstanding). Returning, though, to your original concern: I will see to it that the definition for witchcraft is reviewed in the student dictionaries (and, thereby, on WordCentral), and will suggest revisions that will differentiate more clearly between pagan witchcraft and the other, non-pagan senses. Thank you very much for sharing your concerns with us. Please feel free to write back to me directly at the address below if you have any further questions or concerns. Sincerely, [ID and e-mail address deleted for privacy reasons] -- = = = = = = = = = = = = = Ceridwen is a default net alias Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground. --- * Origin: TransNet Gateway 2.11+ 1111 (3:640/1010) .