doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me. wizard sounds cooler, too. 

I didn't know wizard was gender-specific. I thought "warlock" was a male witch.

Aye, It's against the Wizard's code.

I think your overreacting to something that's not really a big deal.  That's just what I think, though.

If you're serious, then you could go about this through role playing. For example, Blood Elves don't actually have Palidans, they are called "Blood Knights," and Tauren Palidans are actually called "Sun Reavers." But for simplicity's sake, in the game they are called Palidans, even though in the lore and in the reality within the game they are called something else. It's a game mechanic, in the lore, they'll probably be called Witches.

And yet their sleeves are inherently female.  Go figure.

What if she has a beard?
 
I've seen it, they exist.

I don't know...
 
  Main Entry: witch
Pronunciation: \ ˈwich\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English wicche, from Old English wicca, masculine, wizard & wicce, feminine, witch; akin to Middle High German wicken to bewitch, Old English wigle divination, and perhaps to Old High German wīh holy — more at victim
Date: before 12th century
1: one that is credited with usually malignant supernatural powers; especially: a woman practicing usually black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil or familiar : sorceress — compare warlock 
 
  Main Entry: wiz·ard
Pronunciation: \ ˈwi-zərd\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English wysard, from wis, wys wise
Date: 15th century
1archaic: a wise man : sage
2: one skilled in magic : sorcerer 
 
It seems like wizard can be a sorceress who is skilled in magic but not DARK magic. I know wizards tend to be males but that might just be a double standard thing. From the definitions it looks like wizard is just someone who is good with magic. 
 
So:
 
Wizard = general magic
 
witch/warlock= black magic user
 
Hogwarts is a school of wizardry isn't it? It has female students there too.
 
Other suggestions.

@IzzyGraze:This says School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.     
On topic I think it was done just to make things simpler.

That is some sexist shit right there.

WoW has female Warlocks...the class name doesnt change there. Hardly a big deal, get over it.

"Hogwarts is a school of wizardry isn't it? It has female students there too."

Hehe. Female wizards with "wizards sleeves".

" I don't know...
 
  Main Entry: witch
Pronunciation: \ ˈwich\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English wicche, from Old English wicca, masculine, wizard & wicce, feminine, witch; akin to Middle High German wicken to bewitch, Old English wigle divination, and perhaps to Old High German wīh holy — more at victim
Date: before 12th century
1: one that is credited with usually malignant supernatural powers; especially: a woman practicing usually black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil or familiar : sorceress — compare warlock 
 
  Main Entry: wiz·ard
Pronunciation: \ ˈwi-zərd\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English wysard, from wis, wys wise
Date: 15th century
1archaic: a wise man : sage
2: one skilled in magic : sorcerer 
 
It seems like wizard can be a sorceress who is skilled in magic but not DARK magic. I know wizards tend to be males but that might just be a double standard thing. From the definitions it looks like wizard is just someone who is good with magic. 
 
So:
 
Wizard = general magic
 
witch/warlock= black magic user
 
Hogwarts is a school of wizardry isn't it? It has female students there too.
 
Other suggestions. "

wat

Wizette

I would have gone with Sorcerer/Sorceress. Whatever, I just want this game to be released.

" This says School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.     On topic I think its just to make things simpler. "

Where is this coming from.  Is WoW adding a wizard class or something?  And if they are how is that any different from a mage or a warlock?

"It's impossible for a female to be a wizard, as much as its impossible for a woman to be a man, everyone knows this.  Which leaves me to ask, why has this not been discussed anywhere else and why do I seem to be the only one that has a problem with this."

Getting a bit technical with the language.  Witch has a very specific meaning, wizard just means wise person.  There are quite a few terms for magic user that can be thrown around and it's still all made up stuff anyway.
 
As for it being politically correct, the last time I checked, the "politically correct" complaint has to do with people being afraid to say what they want for fear of social stigma.  Blizzard obviously isn't afraid to use the term how they like.

In DnD, men and women are both called wizards. Since DnD is always right, I guess this is alright in Diablo as well.

Everyone knows bitches can't cast magic, yo.

I think this is probably in my top 3 of dumbest things to get mad over.

" WTF is Blizzard thinking????  Females who practice magic are called witches.  It's impossible for a female to be a wizard, as much as its impossible for a woman to be a man, everyone knows this.  Which leaves me to ask, why has this not been discussed anywhere else and why do I seem to be the only one that has a problem with this.  It's horrible decisions like this that have led me to the conclusion that Blizzard has no idea what they're doing and are just riding the diablo series carcass's coat-tails by introducing the most ridiculous ideas; probably as a means to be politically correct.  What do you think?  "

@extremeradical: 
Uh, just no.  Throughout history women have always been witches and men have been wizards.  For example, Merlin was a wizard and Mim was a witch.  And it's not chauvinistic.  It's just a fact you need to accept.  I don't understand why everyone wants to see things otherwise then how they actually are in order to be politically correct.  Don't you see that everything just gets dumbed down?  
 
@ahoodedfigure: 
Yes, but Witch and Wizard are each specifically attributed to males and females in order to differentiate between them.  Males and females are different, and I guess, their use of magic is different from one another.  In Demon's Souls, the Witch Yuria said that her magic is tied to her emotions which is the exact opposite of that of Sage Freke's magic (i.e. the wizard and yes he is a guy, arguably woman can't be sages, but I'll leave that discussion to another thread).   
 
You can't escape who you are and calling a women a wizard is like calling a donkey a horse.  
 
And you're wrong, this was probably a calculated political decision on the part of Blizzard.  Blizzard wants everyone to play their game.  Blizzard wants everyone to get to level 60 or w/e the new level cap in WoW is.  Blizzard is feeding the universal lie that everyone can succeed with minimal effort and that wealth should be re-distributed and people can be whatever they want to be.  I suppose it's only a matter of time before there will be no more distinction between anything and everything will be dumbed down. 
 
@End_Boss: 
Aye, but a man will always be a man and a woman a woman you can't change it.  What Blizzard is doing is ridiculous and it's feeding the mainstream illusion that 'anybody can be whatever you want to be' (no, you aren't, you are only whatever you think you are within your own head only) and 'everyone can succeed' and all these other politically correct nonsensical ideas.  
  
@Driadon:  
That is because those other table-top games and what not are business ventures and so, are not concerned about the proper etymology concerning the proper use of words.  That's my problem with Blizzard.  Just because the magical universe is niche doesn't doesn't make it right to pass off a wizard as a female in order to make your game appealing and accessible to a female audience.  Blizzard manipulating all of you. 
 
@IzzyGraze: 
A sorceress isn't a wizard, only males can be wizards.  That is why in D2 the sorceress was FEMALE.  It would have been ridiculous if the sorceress had been male, so why is it ok for a wizard to be female?  It's stupid.  A male is a sorcerer and a female is a sorceress.  A wizard is a male and a witch is a female.   
 
@lebkin: 
Then D&D makes no sense either.  Women can't be wizards it's psychically and physically impossible.
 
@Bones8677: 
This game isn't and SHOULD NOT be WoW.  But your post and others has confirmed my fears that the Diablo series has become WoW now, but superficially structured around the Diablo mythos.  
 
@AjayRaz:
It's a huge deal.  I don't want to play as an oxymoron.

Female Wizard? Certainly sounds lame, I'd rather much see a Female looking Witch than a Wizard. Won't bother me too much, since I'd really never use the Wizard class.

Really? I mean. Really?

Throughout human history across all of man's different civilizations in all corners of the world there have been witches and these people are sometimes seen as good and other times evil. A witch can be a man or a woman and in some societies anyone and everyone can be or is a witch. Witches are not just women so why can wizards only be men? Also, a man and can totally become a woman today and a woman can totally become a man thanks to modern science. I grew up with a girl who is now a guy and if you saw him walking down the street you would never know he was born a her. I don't want to get into the rest of it, because it's fucked up, but then this whole thread is fucked up. 
 
I have to agree 100% with whomever said this is one of the stupidest things to get upset over.

SO IMPORTANT

Couldn't men be witches also? 
  
/runs

"It's horrible decisions like this that have led me to the conclusion that Blizzard has no idea what they're doing and are just riding the diablo series carcass's coat-tails by introducing the most ridiculous ideas "

" But it does exist.  The WORD wizards and witches exist as much as any other word in a dictionary exists. "

"@Cadmus said:

"It's horrible decisions like this that have led me to the conclusion that Blizzard has no idea what they're doing and are just riding the diablo series carcass's coat-tails by introducing the most ridiculous ideas "

Out of all the things that could make you dislike a developer whether they name their female mage class conventionally or not is what did it for you? "

You aren't really making sense.

I'm so glad I stumbled onto this thread. Thank you all. Sorry to interrupt, please continue.

Please, please, please read a book as nothing you said is correct. Even just one!

STOP FEEDING THE TROLLS

" @Cadmus said:

" But it does exist.  The WORD wizards and witches exist as much as any other word in a dictionary exists. "

And which dictionary are you pulling your definition from? This site cites definitions from Random House Dictionary, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, and Online Etymology Dictionary without mentioning that it should be male. WordNet, YourDictionary, and Wiktionary also do not mention gender. "

" I would have gone with Sorcerer/Sorceress. Whatever, I just want this game to be released. "

I go with what the dictionary says when it comes to things like this:

sorcerer

sorceress

warlock

witch

wizard

You should read Equal Rites. But to cut a medium-sized story short, Eskarina Smith was a wizard.