hag

A hag is a wizened old woman, or a kind of fairy or goddess having the appearance of such a woman, often found in folklore and children's tales such as "Hansel and Gretel". Hags are often seen as malevolent, but may also be one of the chosen forms of shapeshifting deities, such as The Morrígan or , who are seen as neither wholly benevolent nor malevolent. Etymology The term appears in Middle English, and was a shortening of , an Old English term for 'witch'; similarly the Dutch and German are also shortenings, of the Middle Dutch and Old High German , respectively. All of these words are derived from the which is of unknown origin; the first element may be related to the word hedge. As a stock character in fairy or folk tale, the hag shares characteristics with the crone, and the two words are sometimes used as if interchangeable. Using the word hag to translate terms found in non-English (or non-modern English) is contentious, since use of the word is sometimes associated with misogyny.