magus

See also: mágus

English

Etymology

From Latin magus, from Ancient Greek μάγος (mágos, “magician”), from Μάγος (Mágos, “Magian”), of an indeterminate Old Iranian origin (see Μάγος for details). Doublet of mage.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmeɪɡəs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪɡəs

Noun

magus (plural magi or (rare) maguses)

1. A magician; (derogatory) a conjurer or sorcerer, especially one who is a charlatan or trickster.
   • 1987, Jean-Pierre Vernant, translated by Anne Marzin, “Greek Religion”, in edited by Mircea Eliade, The Encyclopedia of Religion, volume 6, New York, N.Y.: Macmillan Publishing Company; London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, →ISBN, page 116, column 1:

     In the middle of the fifth century, Empedocles testified to the vitality of these maguses, who were capable of commanding the winds and of bringing the dead back from Hades and who presented themselves, not as mortals, but as gods.

   • 1997, Robert Silverberg, Sorcerers of Majipoor (The Majipoor Cycle), New York, N.Y.: HarperPrism, →ISBN, page 435:

     It’s from our venerable maguses Gominik Halvor and his son. They’ve cast the runes for our enterprise.

2. (Zoroastrianism) A Zoroastrian priest.
   • 1922, Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla, Zoroastrian Civilization‎^[1], page 230:

     Court astrologers, who were drawn from the race of the Magi, were among those that formed the royal court [...]

   • 1969, Morris L[anglo] West, The Heretic: A Play in Three Acts […], New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, Inc., →LCCN, pages 11–12:

     Mocenigo / [satisfied at last] / Good! Now, tell me, Prior, / What is Rome’s greatest fear? What gives the Pope / More night-mares than bad sausage? / Prior Gabrielli / Heresy! / The rendering of the seamless robe of truth. / This rabble of mountebanks and maguses / Who shout reform, defile the Eucharist, / Flout all authority, elect false bishops, / Deny the Trinity and saving grace, / Abolish marriage, set their private minds / Against the long tradition of the Faith / And Peter’s dictates and the Holy Writ . . .

Usage notes

The two meanings overlap in classical usage – both derive from the Greco-Roman identification of “Zoroaster” as the “inventor” of astrology and magic.

Derived terms

• animagus
• archimagus, archmagus

Related terms

• Magi

Translations

magician

• Arabic: مُوغِيّ m (mūḡiyy), مَجُوس m (majūs), مُشَعْوِذ m (mušaʕwiḏ), سَاحِر m (sāḥir)
• Armenian: մոգ (hy) (mog)
• Bulgarian: маг (bg) m (mag), влъхва (bg) m (vlǎhva)
• Catalan: mag (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 魔法师 (zh) (mófǎshī)

• Finnish: maagi (fi)
• French: mage (fr) m
• Georgian: მოგვი (mogvi)
• Greek: μάγος (el) m (mágos)
• Italian: mago (it) m
• Japanese: 魔法使い (ja) (まほうつかい, mahoutsukai), 賢者 (ja) (けんじゃ, kenja)
• Latin: magus m, maga f
• Macedonian: маг m (mag), во́лшебник m (vólšebnik)
• Norwegian: mager (no) m
• Persian: مغ (fa) (moğ)
• Portuguese: mago (pt) m
• Russian: волхв (ru) m (volxv), маг (ru) m (mag), куде́сник (ru) m (kudésnik), волше́бник (ru) m (volšébnik)
• Spanish: mago (es) m
• Welsh: magiad m

Zoroastrian priest

• Armenian: մոգ (hy) (mog)
• Catalan: mag (ca) m
• Esperanto: mago (eo)
• French: mage (fr) m
• Norwegian: mager (no) m
• Persian: مغ (fa) (moğ)
• Portuguese: mago (pt) m
• Swedish: mager (sv) c, magier c

Anagrams

• gaums, sagum

Estonian

Etymology

From magu +‎ -s, an archaic word meaning "taste", "flavour".

Adjective

magus (genitive magusa, partitive magusat, comparative magusam, superlative kõige magusam)

1. sweet (taste)

Declension

Declension of magus (ÕS type 2/õpik, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		magus	magusad
accusative	nom.
	gen.	magusa
genitive			magusate
partitive		magusat	magusaid
illative		magusasse	magusatesse magusaisse
inessive		magusas	magusates magusais
elative		magusast	magusatest magusaist
allative		magusale	magusatele magusaile
adessive		magusal	magusatel magusail
ablative		magusalt	magusatelt magusailt
translative		magusaks	magusateks magusaiks
terminative		magusani	magusateni
essive		magusana	magusatena
abessive		magusata	magusateta
comitative		magusaga	magusatega

Derived terms

• magustama
• magustoit

Gothic

Romanization

magus

1. Romanization of 𐌼𐌰𐌲𐌿𐍃

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μάγος (mágos, “magician”), from Μάγος (Mágos, “Magian”), of an indeterminate Old Iranian origin (see Μάγος (Mágos) for details).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈma.ɡus/, [ˈmäɡʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈma.ɡus/, [ˈmäːɡus]

Adjective

magus (feminine maga, neuter magum); first/second-declension adjective

1. magic, magical

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	magus	maga	magum		magī	magae	maga
genitive	magī	magae	magī		magōrum	magārum	magōrum
dative	magō	magae	magō		magīs
accusative	magum	magam	magum		magōs	magās	maga
ablative	magō	magā	magō		magīs
vocative	mage	maga	magum		magī	magae	maga

Noun

magus m (genitive magī); second declension

1. magus (Zoroastrian priest)
2. (figuratively) magician, wizard, (derogatory) sorcerer, trickster, conjurer, charlatan

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	magus	magī
genitive	magī	magōrum
dative	magō	magīs
accusative	magum	magōs
ablative	magō	magīs
vocative	mage	magī

Coordinate terms

• maga

Related terms

• magicus

Descendants

• → Dutch: magiër
• → English: Magi, mage, magus
• Catalan: magi
• French: mage
• → Hungarian: mágus
• Italian: mago
• Piedmontese: mago
• Portuguese: mago
• Romanian: mag
• → Spanish: mago
  • → Cebuano: mago

References

• “magus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “magus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• magus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• magus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• magus in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016
• “magus”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray