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ma·gus

(māgəs)

n. pl. ma·gi (mājī′)

1. A member of the Zoroastrian priestly caste of the Medes and Persians.

2. Magus In the New Testament, one of the wise men from the East, traditionally held to be three, who traveled to Bethlehem to pay homage to the infant Jesus.

3. A sorcerer; a magician.

[From Middle English magi, magi, from Latin magī, pl. of magus, sorcerer, magus, from Greek magos, from Old Persian maguš; see magh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

magi·an (mājē-ən) adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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