ISIS Paranormal Investigations: The Etymology of Magic

In the English language words undergo vast changes in the way they are written and spoken. Further, words often undergo significant changes in meaning. Like most words in the English language the Modern English word magic has undergone a number of changes from its first introduction into the English language. By looking at the etymology of the Modern English word magic and how the word changed from its Middle English to its Late Modern English spelling and meaning, it becomes possible to identify some of the historical events that affected how the word was written, as well as the affect that culture has had and continues to have on the word’s meaning. Finally, by examining the variants of the word magic it becomes possible to view language as a process of evolution: language evolves over time and will continue to evolve as it is used.

The word magic has different language sources. In English Words and Their Background, George McKnight argues that magic is a word that is Persian in origin (146). Further, the word magic appeared in Hellenistic Greek and was a combination of magus, and the equivalent to the Modern English –ic suffix (“Magic” def. 1a). The word magus can be traced to Persian origins (“Magus” def. 2a). The introduction of the word magic into the English language was not as simple as the word being borrowed from the Persian or Greek language however. Rather, since there was not a set standard for English until the fifteenth century when the London standard was established (Algeo and Pyles 131), a number of different words were used to indicate the practice of magic: some of the variants were borrowed from Latin, a language that borrowed from the Persian and Greek languages, and other variants were borrowed from the French language. Still other words used to represent magic may have been the result of later misspellings of the word and still other changes came into being when the English language was standardized.

In the Middle French the word for magic appears as magique, first appears circa 1277 in Old French, and was borrowed into the English language in the fifteenth century (“Magic”).   Further, the term magic has Latin classical roots, appearing as magic? and also appeared in post-classical Latin as magica around the third century: the word was used as a noun in the term ars magica, meaning magic art, as well as the feminine form, magicus (“Magic”). Further, the Italian variant magico appears in 1304, and the Portuguese and Spanish variant mágico is traced as far back as the fourteenth century (“Magic”). Also, the Modern English spelling of magic was present in the Occitan, “a former Romance language spoken in the Provençe, or its modern descendant spoken in the south of France” (“Occitan” def. A). Interestingly, despite the fact that the word magic appeared in Occitan, the spelling was not consistently used until the beginning of the Late Modern English period.

Table 1
Changes of the Word Magic
______________________________________________________________________________
Time Period       Spelling
______________________________________________________________________________
Old English – 499 to 1100 BCE

None

Middle English – 1100 to 1500 BCE
Magik
Magyk
Magique
Malgyk
Magyque

Early Modern English – 1500 to 1800 BCE

Magykes
Magika
Magict
Magicke
Magick
Magic
Magic

Late Modern English – 1800 to Present

Magic
Magick
______________________________________________________________________________
Source: “Magic.” Def. 1a. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.

There are no documented instances of the use of the word magic or any of its earlier variants listed in the Oxford English Dictionary before the year 1393. This does not necessarily mean that the word was not used in Old English, but it may mean that no written evidence of the word or any of its understood variants have been discovered in Old English writing to date. While it is surmised that the word has Greek and Latin roots, the Late Modern English word magic looks much like the Old French word magique and magic from the Occitan language.

The Middle English period is between 1100-1500 BCE and the word now understood as magic, appeared in a number of different spellings. In the early fifteenth century, the Middle English variant of magic had several spellings and was written as magik, magyk, magyque, malgyk, maugik, and magique (“Magic” def. 1a). The first recorded use of the word magic in the English language, at least that has been discovered thus far, can be identified in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and the word appears as magik (“Magic” def. 1a). Interestingly, the word magic appears in 1393 in the Man of Law’s Tale and it appears as magyk, suggesting that the i and the y were interchangeable (“Magic” def. 1a). Secondly, there is no c in the word magik or magyk in any of its Middle English variants; this is because the letter c was commonly used to denote the s sound (Algeo and Pyles 129). Finally, the word magyque is derived from the Old French loan word magique with the i replaced with a y in the final position.

It is important to note that a set way of spelling was not a major concern for writers producing work during the Middle English period, and the tremendous differences in spelling that appear during the period can be attributed to the “relaxed standard of orthography” (Algeo and Pyles 131). Secondly, it was a common practice for writers to interchange a y for i in the final position: this can be seen in “nakid and nakyd,” both spellings used during the Middle English period for the Late Modern English word naked (Algeo and Pyles 131). Finally, it is important to realize that writers wrote their work in their “native dialects,” at least until the latter part of the fifteenth century (Algeo and Pyles 131). Thus, where a writer was located affected the a writer spoke and how the writer documented words. Even with the London standard occurring in the late fifteenth century, many writers still used the spellings that were common to their native region (Algeo and Pyles 131). Subsequently, culture played a significant role in how words were spoken and documented.

It is interesting to note that a strange variant for magic appears as malgyk in the Lyvys of seyntys [Lives of Saints] by Osbern Bokenham in 1447 (“Magic” def. 1a). The word mal is also French in origin and has been in used since the eleventh century to indicate something “bad” or “evil” (“Mal-”). Therefore, this spelling, mal + gyk suggests that the writer may have believed that magic was evil or bad, and the belief actually influenced the way the writer wrote the word down. Malgyk is not a spelling that can be attributed to a misprint from a printer because the press was not yet in use; in fact, it was introduced to England nearly 30 years later.

During the Early Modern English period the word magic underwent more changes. The printing press was introduced to England in 1476 (Algeo and Pyles 153). The use of the printing press eventually improved literacy (Algeo and Pyles 153) and helped to standardize spelling. Nevertheless, alternative spellings for the word magic still occurred. For example, in 1581 Nicol Burne used the word magict in The disputation concerning the controversit headdis of religion (“Magic” def. 1a). A close examination of Table 1 reveals that at no other time has the word magict been used, suggesting that the spelling was an error in printing, with a t replacing the final consonant of k.

Scholars in the Early Modern English period chose to maintain archaic spellings in much of what they wrote even after the introduction of the printing press (Algeo and Pyles 153): this may explain the existence of spellings like magicke, and Magick: “advocates of prescriptive grammar” may have insisted on using spellings that were closer to the Latinized variants of the spelling for magic (Algeo and Pyles 153). Further, while magicke remained in use from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century, sometime in the sixteenth century the word lost the k and the e as both letters were dropped from the word, creating the word that is understood as magic in Late Modern English (“Magic” def. 1a). Also, Karl Brenner in An Outline of Middle English Grammar argues that changes that occurred in the way words were spoken may have affected the spelling of the word: due to a change in the Old English to the Middle English “voiceless velar stop” the word magik was changed to magicke, with a c before the consonant k in the word’s spelling (40). Thus, the way the word magic was spoken changed the way the word was written.

The orthography of the word magic is not the only thing that has changed with the passage of time and the use of the word, but the meaning of the word magic has also changed. When the word magic first entered the English language and when the word was used as a noun, it referred to an “occult or secret body of knowledge, sorcery, and witchcraft” (“Magic,” def. 1a). In the early 1600s, magic also came to mean “enchanting or mystical quality” (“Magic,” def. 2). Later, in early the 1780s, the word magic was also used to mean “supernatural means or trickery” or “swift” and “suddenly and surprisingly” (“Magic” def. 1d). Even later, in the early 1830s magic came to refer to “optical illusions” and the “sleight of hand” magic performed by stage magicians (“Magic” def. 3). Thus, the meaning of magic underwent serious changes, from meaning the study and practice of occult or esoteric studies to referring to acts of trickery and illusion.

The change in the meaning of the word magic can be attributed to a change in societal beliefs pertaining to the occult. In The Taboo of Subjectivity: Toward a New Science of Consciousness, Alan Wallace argues that scientific discovery had much to do with the decline in the belief that magic was a supernatural force that can be used to control nature and the universe (46). Such changes in belief and understanding explain the shift in the word magic’s meaning.

Interestingly, the extensive writings of Aleister Crowley, particularly in 1929 text Magick in Theory and Practice, brought about a revival of the use of the word magick instead of magic (“Magic”). Since Crowley was an occultist, the use of magick, once again became associated with occult knowledge and writing, a clear separation from “sleight of hand” magic practiced by stage magicians (“Magic” def. 3). Finally, in some instances, some writers that examine occult subjects in the Late Modern English period still rely on the spelling of magick instead of magic: In 1990, the word magick appears in CrazyQuilt, referring to the practice of “changing consciousness at will” (“Magic” def. 1a). Thus, in Late Modern English two variants of the word magic still exist and are in use, the first is magic which is used in regard to illusions, sleight of hand trickery, or when referring to something as enchanting or mystical, and second, magick, referring to esoteric studies and practices.

In conclusion, it is clear that the word magic has endured many modifications with regard to how the word has been spelled and in terms of meaning. Such changes have occurred ever since the word magic has been introduced to the English language. Historical events, culture, the way the has been spoken and even beliefs have affected the way that the word has been written and understood. Further, the changes in how the word magic is used are fairly recent and as long as the word continues to be used, new changes are likely to occur. Essentially, the English language is still in the process of change and as the English language is exposed to more cultures worldwide, the words that are part of the language will continue to evolve in appearance and in meaning.

Works Cited

Algeo, John, and Thomas Pyles. The Origins and Development of the English Language. 2005. 5th ed. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005.

Brunner, Karl. An Outline of Middle English Grammar. 1963. Trans. Grahame Johnston. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1963.

"Magic." The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.

- - -. Def. A. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.

- - -. Def. 1a. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.

- - -. Def. 1d. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.

- - -. Def. 2. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.

- - -. Def. 3. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.

"Magus." Def. 2a. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.

"Mal-." The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.

McKnight, George H. English Words and Their Background. New York: Appleton, 1923.

“Occitan.” Def. A. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.

Wallace, Alan. The Taboo of Subjectivity: Toward a New Science of Consciousness. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

The Etymology of Magic
by
Dayna Winters

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