In Irish, the word Cailleach originally signified a nun, coming from the latin word 'pallium' which means veil. Over time it came to mean 'old woman' or 'hag'. MAybe its not hard to see how this, added to the ancient beliefs of power and mysticism, then filtered through the lens of the popular media representation, leads us to it's current use for 'witch'.
In Irish, the word Cailleach originally signified a nun, coming from the latin word 'pallium' which means veil. Over time it came to mean 'old woman' or 'hag'. MAybe its not hard to see how this, added to the ancient beliefs of power and mysticism, then filtered through the lens of the popular media representation, leads us to it's current use for 'witch'.
