The Oxford English Dictionary states that the first record of the use of this term was in 1718, in Francis Hutchinson's work An Historical Essay concerning Witchcraft, with Observations upon Matters of Fact Tending to Clear the Texts of the Sacred Scriptures, and Confute the Vulgar Errors about that Point. Mole to witness the supernatural powers of the Hadleigh wizard. the news of the expected coming of the witch-doctor spread far and wide, and about eight o'clock there could not have been less than 200 people collected near the cottage of Mrs. 6d., and promising to pay a visit on Monday evening to the 'old witch,' Mrs. Recourse was had by the girl's parents to a cunning man, named Burrell, residing at Copford, who has long borne the name of 'The Wizard of the North:' but her case was of so peculiar a character as to baffle his skill to dissolve the spell, Application was next made to a witch doctor named Murrell, residing at Hadleigh, Essex, who undertook to effect a cure, giving a bottle of medication, for which he did not forget to charge 3s.

Witchcraft-induced conditions were their area of expertise, as described in this 1858 news report from England: In its original meaning, witch doctors were not exactly witches themselves, but rather people who had remedies to protect others against witchcraft. The term is now more commonly used to refer to healers, particularly in regions which use traditional healing rather than contemporary medicine.

A witch doctor (also spelled witch-doctor) was originally a type of healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft.

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