What is the Difference Between a Warlock and a Wizard?

Here's some idle and wild speculation on my part. If it's true, as anon949021 suggests, that "...A warlock is an ancient spiritual leader and protector (Ward) of the people's customs, their bonds..." then I wonder about the association of the term "oath breaker" (warlock) with that concept. Maybe it's as simple as the misapplication of a pejorative term, in the same way that in the minds of some people, "politician" is synonymous with "crook" or "liar." If enough individuals in positions of power betray the public trust, it doesn't take long for our language to play fast and loose with the reality of what we feel, whether it be true or not. I have no idea if this might play into it at all, but it's just something that occurred to me while reading the comments.

The word 'were' meant man as opposite of 'wife' which meant woman in Old English. When 'were' became associated with shape-changing(like werewolves) then English (Middle English) borrowed the word 'man' from Old Norse to mean a male. There are different sources for 'warlock' and not all are negative. By the way, 'witch' is used by Amerindians to mean an evil medicine man/woman.

The original poster summed everything up flawlessly. This is the best definition I have yet to see and matches what I know of Warlocks. They are witches (regardless of gender) that have been cast out of their coven; oath-breakers.

Here is the real distinction between a warlock and a wizard. A warlock is an ancient spiritual leader and protector (Ward) of the people's customs, their bonds (lock/religions =same things, meaning bonds) and this includes having a deep knowledge of things of the sacred, ancient lore passed on orally, etc. like many of the modern northern and Arctic based cultures that still exist today such and Noaidi of the Sami people, etc. A wizard was (Wis=Wise/Ard =Art/Craft) simply a term 15th century term for a Scholar/Sage/Philosopher, and hence a teacher and early scientist involved with things like alchemy, botany, astrology, etc. and therefore served also as a court adviser. They were compared to a witan, that had the same meaning of “wise one” and also a masculine word.

Warlocks and witches were part of the same team, as it were (“witch” from “wicce” that was pronounced “wich” and sometimes rendered wicche, wycht, wicht, etc.) which means twist and bend, in reference to ceremonial dancers and a feminine word while warlock is a masculine. An example of such ceremonial dances involving twisting and bending is expressed in the image of women in a maypole dance, as well as other ritual dances to entertain both the observers and the powers that be and even those that helped put one into a trance state to commune with the divinities.

Think of a warlock as singing the songs calling forth these powers and the witches’ rites drawing them near. One grabs the attention while the other entertains. Both working together than are compelling interactions with the holy ones (haligar). This is also still practiced among ancient cultures we see today. It’s all pretty simple.

P.S. A witch doctor, which was a term created in the 1700's for a fake doctor, was also used as a term for a witch hunter and was never used in a positive light, and far more derogatory in meaning and application as a term. Peace.

A wizard is simply a male individual who practices magic, and the more advanced an individual is with magic, the more conscious he is of its effects on himself, others and the world as a whole. When a wizard acts according to his will, he does so in consideration of the balance due to his own experience with natural consequences. Most wizards tend not to use magic to harm or control others or to siphon energy unless under stress and/or in extreme circumstances, as the consequences of doing this are enormous.

In contrast, a warlock is a male individual who practices magic and who has spent much of his time and energy developing his abilities to control, cause harm/pain, and/or siphon energy from others. Some people refer to these abilities as "dark" or "black" arts. Regardless of what they are called, the reality is that the natural consequences for these types of magic can be devastating for both others and the self. This suggests that the warlock may have abandoned care for his own safety and well-being in his pursuit of power over others. This is not intended to be a negative judgment, as each practices according to his/her will.

The word "warlock" comes from the Old Norse term varð-lokkur, which means "spirit caller." As such, it isn't necessarily derogatory. That said, it is a word seldom used in Witchcraft. The etymology that would derive the word from the Old English wærloga: "oath breaker" or "traitor," is simply incorrect. However, since many have come to accept this incorrect derivation, the word warlock is considered to be derogatory by many. For this reason it's better to call any Wiccan initiate simply "Witch," be they male or female.

Warlock is a term applied to a male practitioner of magic by medieval Christianity (its etymology after all is Anglo-Saxon). The oath that was broken in this case was more than likely one with the church, not necessarily with a coven. Wicca did not exist at this time, so any negative connotation they tie to the label is modern and specific to their religion and not witchcraft in general.

What's offensive to me is not calling a male witch a warlock, but attempting to define the practice of witchcraft and its associated terminology in terms of RPGs and video games. My spiritual practice is not a fantasy game.

As a practicing Wicca, I approve of the article. It did a very good job explaining the subject, and gave me a non-religious source to cite for an argument with a friend.

@Anon294016: Actually, in most RPGs, mythology and general social norms, the opposite is true. As well, you might not want to use that definition around a male practitioner of The Craft. While we generally tend to be nice about the word's usage once, if you keep using it in error, it gets annoying. It's like having someone smile at you and, completely ignorant of what they're saying, call you a gross, block-headed, jerk whose mother was a donkey and father did cocaine through his butt.

The etymology of warlock suggests that warlocks are renouncers of a faith. Maybe the faith doesn't have to be a religion or any kind of code or vow.

What if warlocks renounce their inborn faith in the "real world", knowing that all experience is illusory?

Then the term could be a fine one for many pagans.

A wizard is born. A warlock is trained.

Wizard uses spells to do magic and warlocks are people who have been banished from a coven. The spells wizard cast often include, poems or magic words and some can make objects move.

Warlocks have practiced magic in a coven, but banished by breaking coven law. They have used magic for evil purposes or to control someone’s free will.

Warlocks are also an important part of fantasy-themed videogames and computer games, not only fantasy literature. In these games, a warlock character's talents, leveling, et cetera, rely on this difference between wizards and warlocks; in some games it's merely a difference of skill level, in others it's a difference of good versus evil.