/ˈmad͡ʒɪk/, /ˈmæd͡ʒɪk/
OriginFrom 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, “magus”). Ultimately from Old Iranian, probably derived from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂gʰ- (“to be able to, to help; power, sorcerer”). Displaced native Old English ġealdor (survived in Middle English galder), and dwimmer.
- uncountable, usuallyThe 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.
““My magic will help you find true love,” said the witch as she looked for the right herbs in her collection.”
“And whan he shall be arrayed as I telle you / lete hym thenne doo his incantacyons & his magyke as he wyll […].”
“But by what magique I, that here have ſtood / Four hunderd yeares (thou know’ſt how truly ſpoke), / Can now remove, think’ſt thou?”
- uncountable, usuallyThe supernatural forces which are drawn on in such a ritual.
- countable, rare, usuallyA specific ritual or procedure associated with such magic; a spell; a magical ability.
“And she can turn people into stone and do all kinds of horrible things. And she has made a magic so that it is always winter in Narnia—always winter, but it never gets to Christmas.”
“"I am the master of mighty magics."”
- countable, usuallyThe ability to cast a magic spell.
“I learned a new magic after rescuing the tree fairy.”
- uncountable, usuallySomething producing successful and remarkable results, especially when not fully understood; an enchanting quality; exceptional skill.
“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”
“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.”
- slang, uncountable, usuallyComplicated or esoteric code that is not expected to be generally understood.
“The stringstream class hides a lot of string parsing magic from us at this point.”
- uncountable, usuallyThe art or practice of performing conjuring tricks and illusions to give the appearance of supernatural phenomena or powers.
- countable, usuallyOne such conjuring trick or illusion.
- abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountableInitialism of magnetism-based interaction capture.
“Use of MAGIC in genome-wide expression screening can identify multiple protein targets of a drug.”
- not-comparableHaving supernatural talents, properties or qualities attributed to magic.
“a magic wand”
“a magic dragon”
- not-comparableProducing extraordinary results, as though through the use of magic.
- not-comparablePertaining to conjuring tricks or illusions performed for entertainment etc.
“a magic show”
“a magic trick”
- colloquial, not-comparableGreat; excellent.
“I cleaned up the flat while you were out. —Really? Magic!”
- not-comparableDescribing the number of nucleons in a particularly stable isotopic nucleus; 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, 126, and 184.
- not-comparableBeing a literal number or string value with no meaning or context, not defined as a constant or variable
“The code is full of magic numbers and we can't figure out what they mean.”
- transitiveTo produce, transform (something), (as if) by magic.
“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”
“The Western professionals magic so much money offshore that it is impossible to put a reliable figure on it.”
“None can be magicked overnight.”
- An Allied cryptanalysis project, during and prior to World War II, that decrypted Japanese messages.
Formsmagics(plural) · magick(alternative) · magicke(alternative, obsolete) · magique(alternative, obsolete) · magics(present, singular, third-person) · magicking(participle, present) · magicked(participle, past) · magicked(past)