μαγεία

Forms

μᾰγείᾱ (mageíā) f (genitive μᾰγείᾱς); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Ancient Greek μαγεύω (mageúō, “to be a Magus, to enchant”),^[2][3] from μάγος (mágos, “Magus”);^[3] Wiktionary takes it directly from the noun with the suffix -εία (-eía).^[1] The noun is from Iranian, compare Old Persian Maguš, the name of a Median tribe with priestly functions; as the meaning of the Iranian word is unknown, its etymology cannot be established.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plato first uses it, of the lore of the Magi: “the μαγεία of Zoroaster” in Alcibiades I.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

From the doctrine of the Persian priests it passed to magic in general, as in Theophrastus' plural for magic practices.^[4][5] Aristotle insisted that the Magi did not even know the sorcerer's kind of magic, γοητική, a sign that the two were already confused.^[4]

In Koine it is the art of influencing higher powers with rites and spells: the magical papyri, Josephus' “magic arts”, and the Acts of the Apostles, where Simon amazes Samaria with his magic.^[5][4] Christian writers list it among the vices, and Ignatius of Antioch says that at Christ's coming all magic was undone.^[5]

Medieval vernacular Greek kept the word, also in a form that survives in Cyprus.^[6] Modern Greek μαγεία (mageía) is a learned word for magic and, after French magie and enchantement, for charm or enchantment.^[7][8]

Timeline

• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it for the doctrine of the Magi taught by Zoroaster.^[4][2]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle denies that the Magi practised sorcery.^[4]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Theophrastus uses the plural for magic practices.^[4][5]
• 1st century AD – Josephus and the Acts of the Apostles use the plural of magic arts.^[5]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Ignatius of Antioch writes that all magic was undone.^[5]
• Modern Greek – It means magic and also charm, after French.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. The religious lore of the Magi.^[4][2]
2. magic, sorcery; in the plural, magic arts.^[4][5][2]

Related words

• μάγος (mágos)
• μαγεύω (mageúō)
• μαγικός (magikós)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3. ^ a b c Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
6. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
7. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
8. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος