Etymograph

English

magician

Magician comes from Middle French magicien, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- ‘to be able’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*megʰ-1‘to be able’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600magicien1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500magicien1‘magician, mage’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2014magician1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English magician
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2014, Magician’s brain: “The truth is that [Isaac] Newton was very much…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*megʰ-Wiktionary, English magician‘to be able’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600magicienWiktionary, English magician
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500magicienWiktionary, English magician‘magician, mage’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2014magicianWiktionary, English magician. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2014, Magician’s brain: “The truth is that [Isaac] Newton was very much…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- ‘to be able’

may, might, main, mechanism, mechanical, yay, mechanic, mower, dismay, mecha, machinist, mage, magus, yayo, 78 more

Today it means

noun A person who plays with or practices allegedly supernatural magic.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “magician”. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- / magician

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