witchfinder

English

Alternative forms

• witch-finder

Etymology

From witch +‎ finder.

Noun

witchfinder (plural witchfinders)

1. (chiefly historical) A person employed to carry out witch-hunts and identify witches.
   • 2017, Ronald Hutton, The Witch, Yale University Press, page 30:

     From the 1970s direct and public accusations of witchcraft increased in Zambia, and with them the use of expert witch-finders, who were ubiquitous in rural areas by the 1980s.

Derived terms

• witchfinder general