Witchcraft comes from Old English wiċċecræft, a compound of wicce ('witch') + cræft ('skill, art, power'), thus literally 'the craft of a witch'. In current use it is a noun meaning "the practice of magic, especially involving spells and supernatural powers". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Old English wicce and Old English cræft. Related English forms include witch and craft. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning.