Magi
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From magi (plural of magus (“magician; (derogatory) conjurer or sorcerer, especially one who is a charlatan or trickster; Zoroastrian priest”)), from Middle English mages, magi or Magi, magy or Magy (“men possessing occult knowledge; astrologers, philosophers, sorcerers”),[1] from Latin magī, from magus (“magician; (derogatory) conjurer or sorcerer, especially one who is a charlatan or trickster; Zoroastrian priest”) + -ī (suffix forming nominative or vocative masculine plurals). Magus is derived from Ancient Greek μάγος (mágos), Μάγος (Mágos, “magician; (derogatory) conjurer, sorcerer; Zoroastrian priest”) (plural μᾰ́γοι (mágoi), Μᾰ́γοι (Mágoi)), from Old Iranian (compare Avestan 𐬨𐬊𐬕𐬎 (moġu), Old Median and Old Persian 𐎶𐎦𐎢𐏁 (m-gu-u-š /maγu-/, title of a person?)),[2] possibly from Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- (“to be able, have power; power; sorcerer”).
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈmeɪd͡ʒaɪ/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈmeɪˌd͡ʒaɪ/, /ˈmæ-/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -eɪdʒaɪ
Proper noun
[edit]Magi pl (plural only)
- (Christianity) Chiefly preceded by the (three): the wise men who visited and gave gifts to the baby Jesus at the Epiphany (traditionally considered to be three in number and sometimes named Balthazar, Caspar, and Melchior, but the Bible does not state how many there were or their names).
- Synonyms: Three Kings, Three Wise Men, Wise Men
- 1660, Edmund Warcupp, transl., Italy, in its Original Glory, Ruine and Revival[1], London, →OCLC, page 70:
- A rich Tabernacle where is kept the head of Saint Euſtorgio, and the Tomb of the three Magi, with this inſcription. Sepulchrum Trium Magorum, where lay the Bodies of thoſe Magi, which were brought hither by Saint Euſtorgio, in Anno 330. when he came laſt out of the Eaſt, but many yeers after, this City being deſtroyed by Fedrick Barbaroſſa, in Anno 1163.
- (astronomy, by extension) The three bright stars (Alnitak (ζ Ori), Alnilam (ε Ori), and Mintaka (δ Ori)) that form Orion's Belt in the Orion constellation.
- Synonyms: Three Kings, Three Sisters
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
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Notes
[edit]- ^ From the collection of the Historical Museum Bamberg in Bamberg, Upper Franconia, Germany.
References
[edit]- ^ “māges, n. plural”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- ^ Compare “magus, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2000; “magus, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Further reading
[edit]Biblical Magi on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Orion's Belt on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
[edit]Middle English
[edit]Noun
[edit]Magi pl (plural only)
- Alternative form of mages
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *megʰ-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English terms derived from Old Iranian languages
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/eɪdʒaɪ
- Rhymes:English/eɪdʒaɪ/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English proper nouns
- English pluralia tantum
- en:Christianity
- English terms with quotations
- en:Astronomy
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Middle English pluralia tantum