As a sort of appendix to my Skill and Magic post, I thought I would just list the etymologies of some magic-related terms, showing links to various skills or crafts. I've skipped steps in several of the etymologies. And, of course, with all etymologies one should exercise a bit of caution; etymology is a tentative study at best, even for experts, and for us amateurs there's plenty of danger of falling victim to mere appearances. But it's an interesting list.
charm < Latin carmen = song
enchantment < Latin incantare = to sing onto/into
Old English galdor < galan = to sing
gramarye < Old French gramaire < Latin grammatica < Greek grammatike techne = art of writing
glamour < gramarye
grimoire < gramaire
spell < Old English spell = story
German besprechen (to charm) < sprechen = to speak
rune < Old High German runa = whisper, quiet conversation
fetish < French fétiche < Portuguese feitiço < Latin facticius = something crafted
wizard < Middle English wys = wise or skilled in craft
Of course, there are many words relating to magic whose etymology is abscure at best, or trails back through the depths of time to oblivion. 'Alchemy' is one of them (perhaps it's a reference to the land of black soil, i.e., Egypt, but perhaps this association is later), as is 'witch'. And other words relating to magic were straight descriptions that have just been carried from one language to the other. In yet other cases, former magic-related words, like 'amethyst' or 'poppet' or 'prestigious', have since shed their magic to become non-magical denizens of the English language.
