English
mage
Mage comes from Middle English mages ‘Wizards, occult scholars’, from Latin magus ‘magic, magical’, and ultimately from Ancient Greek Μάγος.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΜάγος1Mágos‘magician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster, conjurer, charlatan’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmagus1‘magic, magical’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mages1‘Wizards, occult scholars’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1790mage1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English mage
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1790, Edward Gibbon, On the Position of the Meridional Line: “While the liberality of Gelo and his brother Hiero…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΜάγοςWiktionary, English mageMágos‘magician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster, conjurer, charlatan’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmagusWiktionary, English mage‘magic, magical’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500magesWiktionary, English mage‘Wizards, occult scholars’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1790mageWiktionary, English mage. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1790, Edward Gibbon, On the Position of the Meridional Line: “While the liberality of Gelo and his brother Hiero…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- ‘to be able’
might, may, main, mechanical, mechanism, yay, mechanic, mower, magician, dismay, mecha, machinist, yayo, 78 more
through Ancient Greek Μάγος ‘magician, and derogatorily sorcerer,…’
through Latin magus ‘magic, magical’
Today it means
noun A magician, wizard, sorcerer, witch, warlock or mystic.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “mage”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek Μάγος / mage