"female Druid; Druidic prophetess or priestess," 1755, from Druid + -ess. Formerly, Druid had been used indifferently of both sexes.

"of or pertaining to Druids or Druidry," 1773, from Druid + -ic. Related: Druidical.

fem. proper name, Latin fem. diminutive of Drusus, a frequent surname in Livian gens, earlier Drausus, of uncertain etymology, perhaps a Celtic word meaning literally "strong" (compare Old Celtic *dru- "oak," also "strong;" see Druid).

late 14c., magike, "art of influencing or predicting events and producing marvels using hidden natural forces," also "supernatural art," especially the art of controlling the actions of spiritual or superhuman beings; from Old French magique "magic; magical," from Late Latin magice "sorcery, magic," from Greek magikē (presumably with tekhnē "art"), fem. of magikos "magical." This is from magos "one of the members of the learned and priestly class," a borrowing of Old Persian magush, which is possibly from PIE root *magh- "to be able, have power."

The transferred sense of "legerdemain, optical illusion, etc." is from 1811.

It displaced Old English wiccecræft (see witch); also drycræft, from dry "magician," from Irish drui "priest, magician" (see Druid).

Natural magic (1570s) also in early use magic natural (Chaucer) in the Middle Ages was that which did not involve the agency of personal spirits; it was considered more or less legitimate, not sinful, and involved much that later would be explained scientifically as the manipulation of natural forces.

Black magic (1570s) is from the sense of black as the color of sin (see black (adj.)). The term might have developed as a translation of Medieval Latin nigromantia, but it is also possible the term was used in other languages which then influenced the Latin (see necromancy.) In the 1570s black magic is recorded as translating goeton (goetia) and magicarum artium ("of magical arts"). White magic is attested by 1610s, used synonymously with theurgia (see theurgy.)

also *dreu-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "be firm, solid, steadfast," with specialized senses "wood," "tree" and derivatives referring to objects made of wood.

It might form all or part of: betroth; Dante; dendrite; dendro-; dendrochronology; dour; Druid; drupe; dryad; dura mater; durable; durance; duration; duress; during; durum; endure; hamadryad; indurate; obdurate; perdurable; philodendron; rhododendron; shelter; tar (n.1) "viscous liquid;" tray; tree; trig (adj.) "smart, trim;" trim; troth; trough; trow; truce; true; trust; truth; tryst.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit dru "tree, wood," daru "wood, log, timber;" Greek drys "oak," drymos "copse, thicket," doru "beam, shaft of a spear;" Old Church Slavonic drievo "tree, wood," Serbian drvo "tree," drva "wood," Russian drevo "tree, wood," Czech drva, Polish drwa "wood;" Lithuanian drūtas "firm," derva "pine, wood;" Welsh drud, Old Irish dron "strong," Welsh derw "true," Old Irish derb "sure," Old Irish daur, Welsh derwen "oak;" Albanian drusk "oak;" Old English treo, treow "tree," triewe "faithful, trustworthy, honest."

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to see."

It might form all or part of: advice; advise; belvedere; clairvoyant; deja vu; Druid; eidetic; eidolon; envy; evident; guide; guidon; guise; guy (n.1) "small rope, chain, wire;" Gwendolyn; Hades; history; idea; ideo-; idol; idyll; improvisation; improvise; interview; invidious; kaleidoscope; -oid; penguin; polyhistor; prevision; provide; providence; prudent; purvey; purview; review; revise; Rig Veda; story (n.1) "connected account or narration of some happening;" supervise; survey; twit; unwitting; Veda; vide; view; visa; visage; vision; visit; visor; vista; voyeur; wise (adj.) "learned, sagacious, cunning;" wise (n.) "way of proceeding, manner;" wisdom; wiseacre; wit (n.) "mental capacity;" wit (v.) "to know;" witenagemot; witting; wot.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit veda "I know;" Avestan vaeda "I know;" Greek oida, Doric woida "I know," idein "to see;" Old Irish fis "vision," find "white," i.e. "clearly seen," fiuss "knowledge;" Welsh gwyn, Gaulish vindos, Breton gwenn "white;" Gothic, Old Swedish, Old English witan "to know;" Gothic weitan "to see;" English wise, German wissen "to know;" Lithuanian vysti "to see;" Bulgarian vidya "I see;" Polish widzieć "to see," wiedzieć "to know;" Russian videt' "to see," vest' "news," Old Russian vedat' "to know."