Etymology

magic square

Today it means: A palindromic square word arrangement, usually in the form of a magic amulet. Full definition →

French quarré magique ← Latin quadratum magicum
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The story

  1. Latin · calque ofquadratum magicum
  2. French · calque ofquarré magique
  3. English todaymagic square

As magical square by 1670 and magic square by 1701 (see Citations). Calque of French quarré magique or Latin quadratum magicum. Magic refers to its original function as a talisman.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.