Etymology Explorer › Greek

Where does “μαγικός” come from?

μαγικός (Greek) comes from Ancient Greek μαγικός, from Ancient Greek Μάγος, from Old Persian 𐎶𐎦𐏁, from Proto-Iranian magúš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian magʰúš, from Proto-Indo-European megʰ-ú-s, from Proto-Indo-European megʰ- — to be able.

μαγικός (Greek): magic, magical

Definitions

  1. magic, magical

Ancestry of “μαγικός”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekμαγικόςmagical
2Ancient GreekΜάγοςmagician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster,...
3Old Persian𐎶𐎦𐏁priest
4Proto-Iranianmagúš—
5Proto-Indo-Iranianmagʰúš—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmegʰ-ú-s—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanmegʰ-to be able
Every word from Proto-Indo-European megʰ- →