magic

plural magics · alternative magick · alternative obsolete magicke · alternative obsolete magique

1. uncountableusuallyThe application of rituals or actions, especially those based on occult knowledge, to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces in order to have some benefit from them.First known use 14th c.

   “My magic will help you find true love,” said the witch as she looked for the right herbs in her collection.

   5 more examples

   And whan he shall be arrayed as I telle you / lete hym thenne doo his incantacyons & his magyke as he wyll […].

   c. 1489, Foure Sonnes of Aymon, William Caxton

   But by what magique I, that here have ſtood / Four hunderd yeares (thou know’ſt how truly ſpoke), / Can now remove, think’ſt thou?

   1653, William Basse, “The Metamorphosis of the Wallnut-tree of Borestall. In an Eglogue and 3 Cantos, betweene Jasper and Jefferye.”, in J[ohn] P[ayne] C[ollier], editor, The Pastorals and Other Workes of William Basse. […] (Miscellaneous Tracts, Temp. Eliz. & Jac. I), [London: s.n.], published 1870, →OCLC, canto 2, stanza 19, page 122

   The arts of magic and divination were strictly prohibited.

   1781, Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, II.23

   Does not the very name stir the heart [...] with a thrill more mysterious and romantic than any allusion to the magics of Egypt or Hind?

   1928, Lewis Spence, Mysteries of Britain, page viii. 192

   Conversions to the new religion […] have frequently been assisted by the view of converts that they are acquiring not just a means of otherworldly salvation, but a new and more powerful magic.

   1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 23

   Synonyms: dwimmer, spellcraft, thaumaturgy, witchcraft, wizardry

   1. uncountableusuallyThe supernatural forces which are drawn on in such a ritual.

      Synonyms: dwimmer, spellcraft, thaumaturgy, witchcraft, wizardry

   2. countablerareusuallyA specific ritual or procedure associated with such magic; a spell; a magical ability.

      "I am the master of mighty magics."

      2017, Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 116

      1 more example

      And she can turn people into stone and do all kinds of horrible things. And she has made a magic so that it is always winter in Narnia—always winter, but it never gets to Christmas.

      1950, C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

      Synonyms: dwimmer, spellcraft, thaumaturgy, witchcraft, wizardry, cantrip, incantation, cantrip

   3. countableusuallygamesThe ability to cast a magic spell.

      I learned a new magic after rescuing the tree fairy.

      Synonyms: dwimmer, spellcraft, thaumaturgy, witchcraft, wizardry

2. uncountableusuallySomething producing successful and remarkable results, especially when not fully understood; an enchanting quality; exceptional skill.First known use 17th c.

   I look at him and there is a magic. What is it? Love?

   1965 February 10, Lou Sullivan, Diary

   2 more examples

   The original family who had begun to build a palace to outrival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement.

   1963, Margery Allingham, “The Elopers”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 25

   We began to take Santa Claus to the kids at the isolated sidings for the same reason men all over Australia on the lines back o' beyond did [...] we didn't want them to miss that magic.

   1969, Patsy Adam-Smith, Folklore of the Australian Railwaymen, Melbourne: Macmillan, page 151

   1. slanguncountableusuallycomputingComplicated or esoteric code that is not expected to be generally understood.

      The stringstream class hides a lot of string parsing magic from us at this point.

      2017, Jacek Galowicz, C++17 STL Cookbook, page 257

3. uncountableusuallyentertainmentThe art or practice of performing conjuring tricks and illusions to give the appearance of supernatural phenomena or powers.

   Synonyms: illusionism, legerdemain, sleight of hand, conjuration, conjuring, dweomercraft, hocus-pocus, illusionism

   1. countableusuallyentertainmentOne such conjuring trick or illusion.First known use 19th c.

      Synonyms: illusionism, legerdemain, sleight of hand, conjuration, conjuring, dweomercraft, hocus-pocus, illusionism

alternative magick · alternative obsolete magicke · alternative obsolete magique

1. not comparableHaving supernatural talents, properties or qualities attributed to magic.First known use 14th c.

   a magic wand

   1 more example

   a magic dragon

   Synonyms: magical

2. not comparableProducing extraordinary results, as though through the use of magic.First known use 17th c.

   a magic moment

   Synonyms: wonderful, amazing

3. not comparablePertaining to conjuring tricks or illusions performed for entertainment etc.First known use 19th c.

   a magic show

   1 more example

   a magic trick

   Synonyms: magical

4. colloquialnot comparableGreat; excellent.First known use 20th c.

   I cleaned up the flat while you were out. —Really? Magic!

5. not comparablenatural sciencesDescribing the number of nucleons in a particularly stable isotopic nucleus; 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, 126, and 184.First known use 20th c.
6. not comparablecomputingBeing a literal number or string value with no meaning or context, not defined as a constant or variableFirst known use 20th c.

   The code is full of magic numbers and we can't figure out what they mean.

present singular third person magics · participle present magicking · participle past magicked · past magicked · alternative magick · alternative obsolete magicke · alternative obsolete magique

1. transitiveTo produce, transform (something), (as if) by magic.First known use 20th c.

   None can be magicked overnight.

   2021 October 6, Philip Haigh, “Rail freight has a key role in boosting Britain's resilience”, in RAIL, number 941, page 47

   2 more examples

   He pictured them standing about the dim hallway, magicked into immobility, glazed and mute, one with a hand raised, another bending to set down a bag, and Licht before them, nodding and twitching like a marionette, as usual.

   1993, John Banville, Ghosts

   The Western professionals magic so much money offshore that it is impossible to put a reliable figure on it.

   2018, Oliver Bullough, chapter 8, in Moneyland, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 132

   Synonyms: conjure up, magic up

1. An Allied cryptanalysis project, during and prior to World War II, that decrypted Japanese messages.

1. abbreviationinitialismuncountableInitialism of magnetism-based interaction capture.

   Use of MAGIC in genome-wide expression screening can identify multiple protein targets of a drug.

   2010, Carlos A. Guzmán, Giora Z. Feuerstein, Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, page 39