magus

noun

ma·​gus ˈmā-gəs 

plural magi ˈmā-ˌjī 

ˈma-

1

a

: a member of a hereditary priestly class among the ancient Medes and Persians

b

often capitalized : one of the traditionally three wise men from the East paying homage to the infant Jesus

2

: magician, sorcerer

Synonyms

• charmer
• conjurer
• conjuror
• enchanter
• mage
• Magian
• magician
• necromancer
• sorcerer
• voodoo
• voodooist
• witch
• wizard

Examples of magus in a Sentence

attributed the storms to a clash of wills between the two most powerful magi in the land

Recent Examples on the Web

For years Johnson, the disheveled political magus, was the golden boy of Britain's Conservative Party. —Sam Kiley, CNN, 30 June 2022

But other students are there for Wittgenstein the sage, the magus, the riddler—the man who left Russell bewildered by a turn to mysticism at the end of a book that was supposed to be about logic. —Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 9 May 2022

Auden’s father, George Augustus Auden, was a physician and an early reader of Freud; the young poet saw himself also as a healer, though in a rather different mode, less an M.D. than a magus. —Alan Jacobs, Harper’s Magazine , 27 Apr. 2022

His face is framed by voluminous graying locks; his loose robes recall those of a medieval magus. —Edward Rothstein, WSJ, 21 Mar. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from Greek magos — more at magic

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a