Witchcraft, Warlocks and Wiccans

Interesting article on witches. But let me pick a few nits and add some background.

The first word of your opening quotation should be Sumer, not Summer. Its words and the accompanying tune are the oldest known canon (or round). (A round is a tune that repeats, like in “Row, Row Your Boat.”)

According to the Harvard Dictionary of Music, Sumer was written probably in the 13th Century at Reading Abbey in England. Others pin it down to John Fornsete, a monk at the Abbey, in 1226.

Websters says that the word witch is not applied to women only. Random House says “. . . especially a woman.” The male equivalent is warlock .

We cannot let this sexist language go on! It’s high time that someone invented a good unisex word for witch/warlock or sorceress/sorcerer.

R. R. GATES

Fullerton