magico Italian · revision 39082

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1304, Giordano da Pisa|origins=grc μάγος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈma.d͡ʒi.ko/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''magico''' (feminine magica, masculine plural magici, feminine plural magiche)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also wrote [[m|roa-oit|mageco]] and [[m|roa-oit|magicho]].^(GDLI)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|magicus|t=magical]], a learned word, [[bor|grc|μαγικός|tr=magikós]], an adjective formed on [[m|grc|μάγος|tr=mágos|t=magus, sorcerer]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto 1968|267) The Latin adjective was itself taken from Greek.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) DELI and Nocentini treat it with [[mago]], the noun of the same Greek origin, and GRADIT points to [[magia]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ The popular outcomes of the Latin word lie elsewhere in the Romance area: Meyer-Lübke lists Asturian [[m|ast|mego]] and [[pt|meigo|t=friendly, gentle]], and in Galicia and the Minho [[m|gl|meiga|t=witch]].^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the ''Libro dell'Antichristo'', a 13th-century text that passed from the Veneto to Umbria and the Marche.^(TLIO) DELI's earliest dates are Giordano da Pisa's ''arti magiche'' “magic arts” (1304) and Jacopone da Todi's ''arte mageca'' (before 1306), where the false prophet works signs “by magic art”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian the adjective qualified the magic arts and those who practised them, and it could also be used as a noun meaning “magician”.^(TLIO)^(GDLI) In the ''Inferno'' Dante says that Michael Scot knew the game of ''magiche frode'', “magic frauds”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI) The noun use survived in Cavalca, Boccaccio and the Tuscan translations of Ovid, and Tommaseo marks it as dead.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ From the 17th century the word was extended to anything prodigious and extraordinary (1618, Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger) and figuratively to what charms and enchants (1652, Brusoni).^(DELI 1999) The modern dictionaries add a colloquial sense “fantastic, exceptional”, used especially of a team or a moment of success, and a technical use for devices that produce striking effects, such as the ''lanterna magica'' “magic lantern” and the ''occhio magico'' “magic eye”.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – The ''Libro dell'Antichristo'' has the first record.^(TLIO)

+ * 1304 – Giordano da Pisa speaks of ''arti magiche''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1306 – Jacopone da Todi writes ''arte mageca''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante has ''magiche frode'' in the ''Inferno''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1618 – Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger uses it for “prodigious, extraordinary”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1652 – Girolamo Brusoni uses it figuratively for “enchanting”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or relating to [[magia|alt=magic]], its rites and the effects it seeks: ''Il mago pronunciò una formula magica e sparì.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Producing extraordinary, [[prodigioso|alt=prodigious]] effects, or showing exceptional skill: ''Ha un talento magico per la cucina.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(figurative)'' [[incantevole|alt=Enchanting]], charming in a mysterious way: ''Quella sera in montagna c'era una luce magica.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Fantastic, exceptional: ''È stato un anno magico per la nostra squadra.''^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(technology)'' Of devices that produce special effects by technical means, as in ''lanterna magica'' and ''occhio magico''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[magicamente]]

+ * [[magicità]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mago]]

+ * [[magia]]

+ * [[magio]]

+ * [[la|magicus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Set phrases include ''bacchetta magica'' “magic wand” and ''cerchio magico'' “magic circle”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) The ''realismo magico'' “magic realism” is the poetics of some writers of the first half of the 20th century, such as Massimo Bontempelli.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}