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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Proto-Indo-European *megʰ-ú-s Old Persian 𐎶𐎦𐏁 (m-gu-š /maguš/)bor. Ancient Greek μάγος (mágos) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) Ancient Greek -ικός (-ikós) English magic
From Middle English magik, magyk, from Old French magique (noun and adjective), from Latin magicus (adjective), magica (noun use of feminine form of magicus), from Ancient Greek μαγικός (magikós, “magical”), from μάγος (mágos, “magician, magus”). Ultimately from Old Iranian, probably derived from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂gʰ- (“to be able to, to help; power, sorcerer”). By surface analysis, mage + -ic. Piecewise doublet of magey. Displaced Old English ġealdor (whence Middle English galder) and dwimmer.
Pronunciation
Noun
magic (usually uncountable, plural magics)
- The application of rituals or actions, especially those based on occult knowledge, to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces in order to have some benefit from them. [from 14th c.]
- Synonyms: dwimmer, spellcraft, thaumaturgy, witchcraft, wizardry; see also Thesaurus:magic
- “My magic will help you find true love,” said the witch as she looked for the right herbs in her collection.
c. 1489, Foure Sonnes of Aymon, William Caxton:And whan he shall be arrayed as I telle you / lete hym thenne doo his incantacyons & his magyke as he wyll […].
1653, William Basse, “The Metamorphosis of the Wallnut-tree of Borestall. In an Eglogue and 3 Cantos, betweene Jasper and Jefferye.”, in J[ohn] P[ayne] C[ollier], editor, The Pastorals and Other Workes of William Basse. […] (Miscellaneous Tracts, Temp. Eliz. & Jac. I), [London: s.n.], published 1870, →OCLC, canto 2, stanza 19, page 122:But by what magique I, that here have ſtood / Four hunderd yeares (thou know’ſt how truly ſpoke), / Can now remove, think’ſt thou?
1781, Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, II.23:The arts of magic and divination were strictly prohibited.
1864, Henry William Dulcken, Dalziel's Illustrated Arabian Nights' Entertainments, London: Ward, Lock, and Tyler, page 584:"There is no doubt that this African Magician was not the brother of Mustapha the tailor, as he had pretented to be, and consequently not the uncle of Aladdin. He was most probably a native of Africa, as that is a country where magic is more studied than in any other."
1928, Lewis Spence, Mysteries of Britain, page viii. 192:Does not the very name stir the heart [...] with a thrill more mysterious and romantic than any allusion to the magics of Egypt or Hind?
1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 23:Conversions to the new religion […] have frequently been assisted by the view of converts that they are acquiring not just a means of otherworldly salvation, but a new and more powerful magic.
1973, Arthur C. Clark, Profiles of the future, revised edition:Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
- The supernatural forces which are drawn on in such a ritual.
- (rare, countable) A specific ritual or procedure associated with such magic; a spell; a magical ability. [from 14th c.]
- Synonyms: cantrip, incantation; see also Thesaurus:magic spell
2017, Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 116:"I am the master of mighty magics."
- (gaming, countable) The ability to cast a magic spell.
I learned a new magic after rescuing the tree fairy.
- Something producing successful and remarkable results, especially when not fully understood; an enchanting quality; exceptional skill. [from 17th c.]
1963, Margery Allingham, “The Elopers”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 25:The original family who had begun to build a palace to outrival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement.
1965 February 10, Lou Sullivan, Diary:I look at him and there is a magic. What is it? Love?
1969, Patsy Adam-Smith, Folklore of the Australian Railwaymen, Melbourne: Macmillan, page 151:We began to take Santa Claus to the kids at the isolated sidings for the same reason men all over Australia on the lines back o' beyond did [...] we didn't want them to miss that magic.
- (computing, slang) Complicated or esoteric code that is not expected to be generally understood.
2017, Jacek Galowicz, C++17 STL Cookbook, page 257:The stringstream class hides a lot of string parsing magic from us at this point.
- (entertainment) The art or practice of performing conjuring tricks and illusions to give the appearance of supernatural phenomena or powers.
- Synonyms: illusionism, legerdemain, sleight of hand; see also Thesaurus:prestidigitation
- (countable) One such conjuring trick or illusion. [from 19th c.]
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
- → Japanese: マジック (majikku)
- → Korean: 매직 (maejik)
Translations
use of rituals or actions exploiting the supernatural
- Afrikaans: toorkuns, toordery
- Albanian: magji (sq) f, yshtje (sq)
- Arabic: سِحْر (ar) m (siḥr)
- Egyptian Arabic: سحر (siḥr)
- Armenian: մոգություն (hy) (mogutʻyun), կախարդություն (hy) (kaxardutʻyun)
- Assamese: যাদু (zadu), ভেলেকী (bheleki)
- Azerbaijani: sehr (az), sehrbazlıq
- Baluchi: جاتو (játú), جادو (jádú), سحر (sihr, sahr)
- Bashkir: (black) сихыр (sixïr), сихырсылыҡ (sixïrsïlïq); (white) тылсым (tïlsïm)
- Basque: magia (eu)
- Belarusian: ма́гія f (máhija), чараўні́цтва n (čarawníctva)
- Bengali: জাদু (bn) (jadu), ভেলকি (bheloki)
- Bhojpuri: जादू (jādū)
- Breton: hud m
- Bulgarian: маги́я (bg) f (magíja), вълшебство́ (bg) n (vălšebstvó), магьо́сничество n (magjósničestvo), чароде́йство (bg) n (čarodéjstvo)
- Burmese: မျက်လှည့် (my) (myakhlany.), ပဉ္စလက် (my) (panyca.lak)
- Catalan: màgia (ca) f
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 魔法 (mo1 faat3)
- Hokkien: 魔法 (zh-min-nan) (mô͘-hoat)
- Mandarin: 魔法 (zh) (mófǎ)
- Cornish: hus m, pystri m
- Czech: kouzla n, magie (cs) f, čarování n
- Danish: magi (da)
- Dutch: toverij (nl), toverkracht (nl), toverkunst (nl) f, magie (nl) f
- Egyptian: (ḥkꜣ m)
- Estonian: maagia (et), nõiakunst, nõidus (et), võlu
- Finnish: taikuus (fi), taika (fi), magia (fi)
- French: magie (fr) f
- Frisian:
- West Frisian: magy, tsjoend, tsjoenderij (fy)
- Gagauz: büü
- Galician: maxia f
- Georgian: მაგია (magia), ჯადოქრობა (ǯadokroba), გრძნეულება (grʒneuleba), მისნობა (misnoba)
- German: Zauberei (de) f, Zauber (de) m, Magie (de) f, Hexerei (de) f
- Greek: μαγεία (el) f (mageía)
- Ancient Greek: μαγεία f (mageía)
- Haitian Creole: maji
- Hebrew: כִּשּׁוּף / כישוף (he) (kishúf), קֶסֶם (he) m (késem)
- Hindi: जादू (hi) m (jādū), सेहर (hi) m (sehar)
- Hungarian: varázslat (hu), varázs (hu)
- Icelandic: töfrar (is) m pl
- Ido: magio (io)
- Indonesian: sihir (id), magi (id)
- Irish: draíocht f
- Italian: magia (it) f
- Japanese: 魔術 (ja) (まじゅつ, majutsu), 魔法 (ja) (まほう, mahō), マジック (ja) (majikku)
- Kalmyk: ав (av)
- Kazakh: сиқыр (sıyqır), сиқыршылық (sıyqıršılıq)
- Khmer: វេទមន្ត (veit mŭən)
- Korean: 마술(魔術) (ko) (masul), 마법(魔法) (ko) (mabeop), 요술(妖術) (ko) (yosul), 매직 (ko) (maejik)
- Kurdish:
- Central Kurdish: جادوو (cadû), سیحر (sîḧir)
- Northern Kurdish: sihir (ku) f, cadû (ku) f, efsûn (ku)
- Kyrgyz: сыйкыр (ky) (sıykır), магия (magiya)
- Lao: ເວດມົນ (wēt mon)
- Latin: magia (la) f, magice f, veneficium, artes magicae, artes magae, carmen (la) n
- Latvian: maģija (lv) f
- Lithuanian: magija (lt) f
- Luxembourgish: Magie f
- Macedonian: ма́гија f (mágija), во́лшепство n (vólšepstvo), вра́жба f (vrážba)
- Malagasy: majika (mg)
- Malay: sihir (ms)
- Malayalam: മന്ത്രവാദം (mantravādaṁ), മാന്ത്രികം (māntrikaṁ)
- Maltese: maġija f
- Manx: druaightys, drualtys, obbeeys f, pishagys f
- Marathi: जादू f (jādū)
- Middle English: magik
- Mongolian:
- Cyrillic: ид шид (id šid), рид шид (rid šid)
- Navajo: álííl
- Norman: magie f (Jersey)
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: magi m, trolldom m
- Nynorsk: magi m, trolldom m
- Occitan: magia (oc) f
- Old English: ġealdor n
- Oromo: tolcha
- Pashto: جادو (ps) m (jādu), سحر (ps) m (sehr)
- Persian:
- Iranian Persian: جادو (fa) (jâdu), سِحْر (sehr)
- Plautdietsch: Zaubarie f, Teewa f, Hakjsenkonst f
- Polish: magia (pl) f, czary (pl)
- Portuguese: magia (pt) f, mágica (pt) f (Brazil)
- Romanian: magie (ro)
- Russian: волшебство́ (ru) n (volšebstvó), ма́гия (ru) f (mágija), колдовство́ (ru) n (koldovstvó), чароде́йство (ru) n (čarodéjstvo) (witchcraft)
- Scots: magic
- Scottish Gaelic: draoidheachd f
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: чаро̀лија f, ма̀гија f, ма̀ђија f
- Latin: čaròlija (sh) f, màgija (sh) f, màđija (sh) f
- Slovak: mágia f, kúzlo n
- Slovene: čarovnija f, magija (sl) f
- Sotho: boloi
- Southern Altai: магия (magiya), тарма (tarma)
- Spanish: magia (es) f
- Swahili: ndumba (sw)
- Swedish: magi (sv), trolldom (sv) m
- Tagalog: mahika, salamangka (sorcery), hikmat
- Tajik: ҷоду (tg) (jodu), ҷодугарӣ (jodugari), соҳирӣ (sohiri), соҳири (sohir-i)
- Tatar: сихер (tt) (sixer), тылсым (tt) (tılsım)
- Telugu: మాయ (te) (māya)
- Thai: เวทมนตร์ (th) (wêet-mon)
- Tibetan: མཐུ (mthu)
- Turkish: büyü (tr), sihir (tr), efsun (tr), yada (tr)
- Turkmen: jady (tk)
- Ukrainian: ма́гія f (máhija), чарівни́цтво n (čarivnýctvo), чаклу́нство n (čaklúnstvo)
- Urdu: جادُو m (jādū), سِحْر m (sihr)
- Uyghur: سېھىرگەرلىك (sëhirgerlik)
- Uzbek: magiya, sehrgarlik (uz), sehr (uz)
- Vietnamese: ma thuật (vi), yêu thuật (vi), phép thuật (vi), pháp thuật (vi)
- Volapük: magiv (vo)
- Welsh: hud (cy) m
- Woiwurrung: mūng, (please verify) yaruk
- Yiddish: כּישוף m (kishef)
- ǃXóõ: gǁxài
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ritual associated with supernatural magic or mysticism
- Afrikaans: toorkuns, toordery
- Bulgarian: магьо́сничество n (magjósničestvo)
- Danish: sejd c
- Dutch: tovenarij (nl), toverkunst (nl) f, magie (nl) f
- Egyptian: (ḥkꜣ m)
- Finnish: taikamenot, noitamenot, magia (fi)
- Galician: maxia f
- German: Magie (de) f
- Greek: μαγεία (el) f (mageía)
- Ancient Greek: μάγευμα n (mágeuma)
- Hungarian: mágia (hu)
- Indonesian: sihir (id)
- Irish: draíocht f
- Kurdish:
- Central Kurdish: سیحر (sîḧir)
- Latin: magia (la), veneficium, magice, carmen (la) n
- Old Norse: seiðr m
- Plautdietsch: Zaubarie f, Hakjsenkonst f
- Portuguese: magia (pt) f, mágica (pt) f (Brazil)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: чаро̀лија f, вра̏џбина f, врачање n, ма̀гија f, ма̀ђија f
- Latin: čaròlija (sh) f, vrȁdžbina (sh) f, vračanje (sh) n, màgija (sh) f, màđija (sh) f
- Sotho: boloi
- Swedish: trolldom (sv) c, magi (sv) c
- Turkish: büyü (tr), sihir (tr)
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something spectacular or wonderful
- Dutch: toverij (nl) f, magie (nl) f
- Finnish: taika (fi), taikuus (fi)
- French: magie (fr) f, magique (fr)
- Galician: maxia f
- Georgian: მაგიური (magiuri), ჯადოსნური (ǯadosnuri)
- German: Magie (de) f, Zauber (de) m
- Old High German: zoubar
- Greek: μαγεία (el) f (mageía)
- Hungarian: varázs (hu)
- Indonesian: keajaiban (id)
- Italian: magia (it) f
- Latin: magia (la), magice
- Naga:
- Khiamniungan Naga: thǖngōchí
- Persian:
- Iranian Persian: جادویی (fa) (jâduyi)
- Portuguese: magia (pt) f
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: чаро̀лија f, ма̀гија f, ма̀ђија f
- Latin: čaròlija (sh) f, màgija (sh) f, màđija (sh) f
- Swedish: magi (sv) c
- Tatar: могҗиза (tt) (moğciza)
- Turkish: mucize (tr), harika (tr)
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illusion performed to give the appearance of magic or the supernatural
- Armenian: աճպարարություն (hy) (ačpararutʻyun)
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 魔術 / 魔术 (mo1 seot6)
- Hokkien: 魔術 / 魔术 (zh-min-nan) (mô͘-su̍t)
- Mandarin: 魔術 / 魔术 (zh) (móshù), 戲法 / 戏法 (zh) (xìfǎ)
- Dutch: goochelkunst f, illusionisme (nl) n
- Esperanto: iluzio
- Finnish: taikatemppu (fi), taikuruus, silmänkääntötemppu (fi)
- French: magie (fr) f
- Galician: maxia f
- German: Magie (de) f
- Greek: μαγεία (el) f (mageía), ταχυδακτυλουργία (el) f (tachydaktylourgía)
- Hungarian: mágia (hu), bűvészet (hu), bűvészkedés (hu)
- Indonesian: sulap (id)
- Irish: draíocht f
- Italian: magia (it) f
- Japanese: 手品 (ja) (てじな, tejina)
- Kalmyk: ав (av)
- Kurdish:
- Central Kurdish: سیحر (sîḧir)
- Latin: praestīgiae f pl
- Luxembourgish: Magie f
- Malayalam: മാന്ത്രികം (māntrikaṁ), ജാലവിദ്യ (ml) (jālavidya), മായാജാലം (māyājālaṁ)
- Marathi: जादू f (jādū)
- Norman: magie f (Jersey)
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: tryllekunst m
- Nynorsk: tryllekunst m or f
- Persian:
- Iranian Persian: تَرْدَسْتی (tardasti)
- Portuguese: magia (pt), mágica (pt) f (Brazil)
- Romanian: magie (ro) f
- Russian: фо́кус (ru) m (fókus)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: чаро̀лија f, ма̀гија f, ма̀ђија f
- Latin: čaròlija (sh) f, màgija (sh) f, màđija (sh) f
- Swedish: trolleri (sv) n
- Thai: มายากล (th) (maa-yaa-gon)
- Tibetan: སྒྱུ་མ (sgyu ma), མིག་འཕྲུལ (mig 'phrul)
- Turkish: gözbağı (tr), sihir (tr)
- Ukrainian: фо́кус m (fókus)
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Translations to be checked
Adjective
magic (not comparable)
- Having supernatural talents, properties or qualities attributed to magic. [from 14th c.]
- Synonym: magical
a magic wand
a magic dragon
- Producing extraordinary results, as though through the use of magic. [from 17th c.]
- Synonyms: wonderful, amazing
a magic moment
- Pertaining to conjuring tricks or illusions performed for entertainment etc. [from 19th c.]
- Synonym: magical
a magic show
a magic trick
- (colloquial) Great; excellent. [from 20th c.]
I cleaned up the flat while you were out. —Really? Magic!
- (physics) Describing the number of nucleons in a particularly stable isotopic nucleus; 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, 126, and 184. [from 20th c.]
- (programming) Being a literal number or string value with no meaning or context, not defined as a constant or variable [from 20th c.]
The code is full of magic numbers and we can't figure out what they mean.
Derived terms
Translations
having supernatural talents, properties or qualities
- Arabic: سِحْرِيّ (siḥriyy)
- Bashkir: тылсымлы (tïlsïmlï), сихырлы (sixïrlï)
- Bulgarian: магически (bg) (magičeski)
- Catalan: màgic (ca)
- Czech: kouzelný (cs)
- Dutch: (please verify) magisch (nl), (please verify) betoverd (nl), (please verify) tover- (nl)
- Finnish: maaginen (fi), taika-
- Galician: máxico
- German: magisch (de)
- Greek:
- Ancient Greek: μαγικός (magikós)
- Hungarian: varázs- (hu) (in compounds), mágikus (hu), elvarázsolt (hu), bűvös (hu)
- Indonesian: sakti (id), magis (id)
- Irish: draíochtach
- Latin: magus, magicus
- Luxembourgish: magesch
- Malay: sakti
- Polish: magiczny (pl)
- Portuguese: mágico (pt)
- Romanian: magic (ro)
- Russian: волше́бный (ru) (volšébnyj), колдовско́й (ru) (koldovskój), маги́ческий (ru) (magíčeskij)
- Scottish Gaelic: seunta
- Serbo-Croatian: čarobni (sh), magični (sh)
- Swedish: magisk (sv)
- Turkish: büyülü (tr), sihirli (tr), efsunlu
- Volapük: magivik (vo)
- Welsh: hud (cy)
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producing extraordinary results; wonderful, amazing
- Armenian: մոգական (hy) (mogakan)
- Dutch: magisch (nl), betoverend (nl), feeëriek (nl)
- Estonian: maagiline
- Finnish: maaginen (fi), taianomainen (fi), lumoava (fi)
- Galician: máxico
- German: magisch (de)
- Greek: μαγικός (el) (magikós)
- Hungarian: bűvös (hu), varázsos (hu), varázslatos (hu), mágikus (hu)
- Icelandic: töfrandi
- Indonesian: ajaib (id)
- Italian: magico (it)
- Latin: magicus, magus
- Latvian: maģisks (lv)
- Macedonian: магичен (magičen)
- Norwegian: magisk (no)
- Portuguese: mágico (pt)
- Romanian: magic (ro), minunat (ro), fermecător (ro)
- Russian: волше́бный (ru) (volšébnyj)
- Turkish: harikulade (tr), müthiş (tr), büyüleyici (tr)
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featuring illusions that are usually performed for entertainment
Translations to be checked
Verb
magic (third-person singular simple present magics, present participle magicking, simple past and past participle magicked)
- (transitive) To produce, transform (something), (as if) by magic. [from 20th c.]
- Synonyms: conjure up, magic up
1993, John Banville, Ghosts:He pictured them standing about the dim hallway, magicked into immobility, glazed and mute, one with a hand raised, another bending to set down a bag, and Licht before them, nodding and twitching like a marionette, as usual.
2018, Oliver Bullough, chapter 8, in Moneyland, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 132:The Western professionals magic so much money offshore that it is impossible to put a reliable figure on it.
2021 October 6, Philip Haigh, “Rail freight has a key role in boosting Britain's resilience”, in RAIL, number 941, page 47:None can be magicked overnight.
Derived terms
Translations
to produce something, as if by magic
Translations to be checked
Further reading
Anagrams
Occitan
Pronunciation
Adjective
magic m (feminine singular magica, masculine plural magics, feminine plural magicas)
- magic, magical
Derived terms
Related terms
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French magique. By surface analysis, magie + -ic.
Pronunciation
Adjective
magic m or n (feminine singular magică, masculine plural magici, feminine/neuter plural magice)
- magical
Declension
Further reading
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