According to the dictionary, a witch is "a woman thought to have evil magic powers."
Witches have been often portrayed in fairy tales wearing a black cloak and pointed hat, and flying on a broomstick.
"Most human societies have believed in witchcraft, and indeed the modern Western societies are unusual in their refusal to do so. Traditionally, people have treated witchcraft in two very different ways. On the one hand they have resorted to specialists in it for their benefit: to be freed from suffering, to injure enemies, or to obtain what they desire. On the other, they have blamed it for their own misfortunes, and set out to identify and punish the witch responsible for using the power against them.
Most societies, also, have had a well-developed idea of what a witch should be like; a person living within a community but set apart from it by a reserved temperament and odd habits. Many have believed in addition that witches cooperate with each other in secret organizations, and that they work with, or control, supernatural beings. They were commonly believed to operate mostly at night, and to have the power of flight. These concepts were as common in tribal Africa, Asia, and America as in pre-modern Europe."
"Witchcraft," Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.