Magus

American  

[mey-guhs] / ˈmeɪ gəs /

noun

plural

Magi

1. (sometimes lowercase) one of the Magi.

2. (lowercase) a magician, sorcerer, or astrologer.

3. (sometimes lowercase) a Zoroastrian priest.

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magus ¹ British  

/ ˈmeɪɡəs /

noun

1. a Zoroastrian priest

2. an astrologer, sorcerer, or magician of ancient times

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Magus ² British  

/ ˈmeɪɡəs /

noun

1. New Testament a sorcerer who tried to buy spiritual powers from the apostles (Acts 8:9-24)

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Etymology

Origin of Magus

1615–25; < Latin < Greek mágos < Old Persian maguŝ; compare Avestan moγu

Explanation

A magus is a follower of Zoroastrianism, an ancient religion. You can also use magus to mean "magician" or "wise man." In ancient Persia, a Zoroastrian priest (or a member of that particular caste) was a magus. The word's meaning grew to include practitioners of astrology and magic, but in English its plural form, magi, is most commonly used for the three wise men, or magi, who are described visiting Jesus in the Bible. Magus means "magician" in Latin, and its roots go back to the Old Persian magush, also "magician."

Example Sentences

Ask anyone to close their eyes and picture a four-decade-old used-book store situated next to a major university, and the bookstore they imagine is likely to resemble Magus Books in Seattle’s University District.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 20, 2022

“John and Christine were really, really thrilled that we wanted to put a little baby Magus in the downstairs,” McElroy says.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 20, 2022

When she and her husband Chris Weimer bought Magus in 2004, the shop was already an institution.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 20, 2022

But customers at the annex also have access to all the books in stock at the main Magus store, which the staff has started to refer to as “the engine.”

From Seattle Times • Dec. 20, 2022

About nightfall Simon Magus unlocked the door and called Mary Magdalen out of the room.

From In Both Worlds by Holcombe, William Henry