Witcher

See: Witcher (disambiguation) for other meanings of the word "witcher". Witchers or hexers are sterile mutants with supernatural abilities, who receive special training and preparation in order to become professional monster slayers for hire. It is believed (even by themselves) that they are unable to have no emotions, although it is not entirely clear whether it is true or not. Geralt, the central character in the Witcher series, is said in the stories to be one of the best witchers.

"Witcher" is a derogatory term constructed from the word witch (wiedźma) and used by the magicians to describe males with a limited magical ability.

Name
The original Polish name for "witcher" is "wiedźmin". The English translation preferred by Andrzej Sapkowski was initially "hexer" and is the name used in the international version of the movie adaptation. However, CD Projekt chose to translate it to "witcher" in the computer game, and this version was subsequently used by Danusia Stok in her translation of the book The Last Wish, as well as by Sapkowski himself in the book Historia i fantastyka.

Alternatively, the word warlock has been used informally in English translations, while "witcher", being a neologism in English (as wiedźmin is in Polish) arguably describes better the spirit of Geralt's profession.

In other languages:
 * Zaklínač (Czech)
 * Hexer (German)
 * Raganis (Lithuanian)
 * Ведьмак/Vedmak (Russian)
 * Sorceleur (French)
 * El Brujo (Spanish)