Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Magianism” come from?

Magianism (English) comes from English Magian, from English Magɨ, from Middle English mages, from Latin magus, from Ancient Greek Μάγος, from Old Persian 𐎶𐎦𐏁, from Proto-Iranian magúš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian magʰúš — to be able.

Ancestry of “Magianism”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMagianOne of the Magi, or priests of the Zoroastrian...
2EnglishMagɨ—
3Middle EnglishmagesWizards, occult scholars; those with great...
4Latinmagusmagic, magical; magician, and derogatorily...
5Ancient GreekΜάγοςmagician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster,...
6Old Persian𐎶𐎦𐏁priest
7Proto-Iranianmagúš—
8Proto-Indo-Iranianmagʰúš—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanmegʰ-ú-s—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanmegʰ-to be able
Every word from Proto-Indo-European megʰ- →