Warlock/Wizard - was Asking JKR just one question

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 119422


Valky wrote:
> The word Warlock is said to be derived from Old English for Oath 
> Breaker. Many who know this have contention with it's use as a 
> synonym for Wizard or Sorcerer. It means traitor.
> 
> I don't think Harry could instantly recognise a traitor unless they 
> bore some kind of distinguishing mark on their person. He could, 
> however, recognise a social outcast in a bar or some kind of 
> derelict character.
> 
> Perhaps Warlock in JKR's WW is the equivalent of Punk, Rebel or some 
> like social distinction. It would seem in line with the accepted 
> meaning of the term.

Carol responds:
What about Perkins, the old warlock who shares an office with Mr.
Weasley? He doesn't seem to be a rebel or a derelict. (If "warlock"
meant "derelict," surely it would be applied to Mundungus Fletcher?)
And the name Perkins doesn't fit any better than Macmillan with
Steve's hypothesis of "warlock" as a term for East European wizards
(more or less refuted, anyway, by the Anglo Saxon etymology you refer to).

Don't know about anyone else, but I'm as puzzled as ever by the term.

Carol, who has "I am a Rock" running through her head for reasons that
Potioncat will understand