Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
:10
:09
:08
:07
:06
:05
:04
:03
:02
:01
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
- They give this tale of sorcery and time travel an aura of mystery that is entirely appropriate.
- Death or disease in the family is often taken as evidence of sorcery.
- Fable takes this core of swords and sorcery and wraps it in a kind of fantasy life-simulation game.
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
sorcery
Cite This Source
sorcery
the practice of malevolent magic, derived from casting lots as a means of divining the future in the ancient Mediterranean world. Some scholars distinguish sorcery from witchcraft by noting that it is learned rather than intrinsic. Other scholars, noting that modern witches claim to learn their craft, suggest that sorcery's intent is always evil and that of witchcraft can be either good or bad. In the early Christian era, the term was applied to any magician or wizard but by the Middle Ages only to those who allegedly practiced magic intended to harm others. In Western popular culture, and in Western children's literature in particular, the sorcerer often assumes a more positive guise.
Learn more about sorcery with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Cite This Source