“ HAG. (1) (Probably a shortened form of the O. Eng. hægtesse, hegtes, cognate with Ger. Hexe, witch, Dutch hecse) , a word common during the 16th and 17th centuries for a female demon or evil spirit, and so particularly applied to such supernatural beings as the harpies and fairies of classical mythology, and also to witches. In modern usage the word is generally used of a hideous old woman whose repulsive exterior is accompanied by malice or wickedness. ”