magia

Forms

magia f (plural magias)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin magīa (“magic, sorcery”), which is from Ancient Greek μαγεία (mageía, “the lore of the Magi; magic”).^[2][3][1][4] Nascentes calls it a learned word.^[5]

The Greek noun is formed from μάγος (mágos, “Magus, member of the Median priestly caste”), and the DHLF puts the verb μαγεύω (mageúō, “to be a Magus”) in between.^[6][7][8] The noun for the Magus is of Iranian origin: Beekes compares Old Persian maguš, the name of a Median tribe with priestly functions, and holds that its etymology cannot be established because the meaning of the Iranian word is unknown.^[8] Wiktionary mentions a possible link with Proto-Indo-European *meh₂gʰ- (“to be able”).^[9]

The same Late Latin word is Spanish magia, French magie, Italian magia and Catalan màgia.^[1][7] The Latin noun for the Magus, magus, gave the older Portuguese mago, recorded from the 13th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Cunha dates the word to the 17th century, with the senses “religion of the Magi” and “witchcraft”.^[3] Morais (1789) and Vieira (1871–1874) only refer the reader to mágica, which was then the usual word.^[10][11] Modern dictionaries add conjuring tricks, the figurative charm of colours, words or love, and the anthropologists' sense of a system of beliefs and practices meant to act on nature.^[2][12][13] Magia negra is magic meant to harm, and magia branca magic used for good; in Brazil magia branca is also a name for umbanda.^[2][14]

Timeline

• 17th century – Cunha's date of the first record.^[3]
• 1692 – Houaiss's first dated record.^[2]
• 1789 – Morais refers magia to mágica.^[10]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira also refers magia to mágica.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. magic: the art or practice that claims to produce supernatural effects by rituals, spells or the help of spirits: Os habitantes da aldeia acreditavam na magia.^[2][13][1]
2. Any magical procedure, and the effect it produces.^[2]
3. An effect whose causes are, or seem, impossible to explain.^[2][15]
4. Conjuring; the creation of illusions by tricks, illusionism.^[2][12][1]
5. (figurative) charm, fascination: a magia daquela noite.^[2][13][1]
6. (anthropology) A system of beliefs and practices meant to act on nature through supernatural forces.^[13][12]
7. (religion, archaic) The doctrine of the Magi, magismo.^[2][14]

Related words

• mágica
• mago
• mágico
• Latin magīa
• Spanish magia

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. magia
3. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. mago
4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. magia
6. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. μαγεία
7. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. magie
8. ^ a b 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
9. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. μάγος
10. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1789), Diccionario da lingua portugueza composto pelo padre D. Rafael Bluteau, reformado, e accrescentado, 2 vols., Lisboa: Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, p. 2, 42
11. ^ a b Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 4, 25
12. ^ a b c Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt
13. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition
14. ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org
15. ^ Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. magia