Etymology and origin of the Latin word magice
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Borrowing
- First attested
- 23/24–79 AD, Pliny the Elder
- Borrowed from
- Ancient Greek μαγική
- Ultimate origin
- Ancient Greek μαγική
Forms
magicē f (genitive magicēs); first declension[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Ancient Greek μαγική (magikḗ, “magical”),[2][1][3] the feminine of μαγικός (magikós, “magical”), with τέχνη (tékhnē, “art”) understood: “the magic art”.[3][4][5] The adjective comes from μάγος (mágos, “magus”),[5] the source of Latin magus.[6]
Earliest recorded meaning
It first appears in Pliny the Elder,[6][2] meaning magic or sorcery: in the thirtieth book of his Natural History he says that medicine and magic flourished together, and he speaks of another school of magic going back to Moses and the Jews.[2][3]
Semantic evolution
It is a rare word, which Lewis & Short class as post-Augustan;[3] the usual Latin word for magic is magia.[7][8] From Late Latin it passed into Old French as magique, the source of English magic.[5]
Timeline
- 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it for magic as an art beside medicine.[2][3][6]
- late 14th century – English borrows magic from Old French, which took it from the Late Latin word.[5]
Meanings
Noun
Related words
Usage notes
Conte warns that the forms of this noun (magicē, magicēs) are easily confused with those of the adjective magicus “magical”.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
Related etymologies
- nauta · also from Greek
- magis · also from Greek
- leo · also from Greek
- olea · also from Greek
- calamus · also from Greek
- politia · also from Greek
- athleticus · also from Greek
- archetypum · also from Greek
Cite this entry
“Magice.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/magice. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.
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