ANSWERS: 4
-
I have only found two possible origins for this word and both lines of descent are suspect. 1) It is a moderately popular nonsense name for pets, but I couldn't discover whether this is origin or application - there may even be a connection to a computer game character. ...or... 2) It comes fwom the phonetic spe-wing of Ew-mer Fudd saying pywackit (parakeet). ...or both. For what it's worth, it was the best I could find. From the awkward spelling I was guessing modern, possibly phonetically mimicked origin. What I was able to find supports that, but it is admittedly inconclusive.
-
Pywackit (also Pyewackett, Piewacket, etc.) is the name of a witch's cat in the movie Bell, Book and Candle. It is speculated that the name was derived from a word in Welsh or Gaelic for "witch's familiar."
-
‘Piewacket’ was named after Kim Novak’s cat in the bewitching film Bell, Book and Candle, a movie about a modern day witch who, along with her enchanting Siamese cat, conspires to charm an unwitting James Stewart. Piewacket was also the name of a familiar spirit of a witch who was arrested in Essex in 1644.
-
The name Pyewackett is a ancient name that Old World Witches used for certain familiar spirits most often who appeared in the form of a feline. (Pre-Gardnerian Witchcraft) My ancestor who was a victim to the atrocities of the European Witch Trials brought about by the Spanish Inquisition had a cat duly so named. It is recorded in the records that date from this time, some of the people that have suggested it is a nonsense name, may as well say that all such non-christian names are nonsense, however it is from Pict/Welsh origin and refers to a helpful spirit who has incarnated as an animal, and is predisposed to help its keeper.
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC

by 