Magus
noun
one of the Magi.
Magus
American
[mey-guhs]
/ ˈmeɪ gəs /
noun
-
Magi
plural
-
(sometimes lowercase) one of the Magi.
-
(lowercase) a magician, sorcerer, or astrologer.
-
(sometimes lowercase) a Zoroastrian priest.
magus
1
British
/ ˈmeɪɡəs /
noun
-
a Zoroastrian priest
-
an astrologer, sorcerer, or magician of ancient times
Magus
2
British
/ ˈmeɪɡəs /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Magus
1615–25; < Latin < Greek mágos < Old Persian maguŝ; compare Avestan moγu
Explanation
A magus is a follower of Zoroastrianism, an ancient religion. You can also use magus to mean "magician" or "wise man." In ancient Persia, a Zoroastrian priest (or a member of that particular caste) was a magus. The word's meaning grew to include practitioners of astrology and magic, but in English its plural form, magi, is most commonly used for the three wise men, or magi, who are described visiting Jesus in the Bible. Magus means "magician" in Latin, and its roots go back to the Old Persian magush, also "magician."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Customers looking to sell books can always bring them to the main Magus store on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2022
When she and her husband Chris Weimer bought Magus in 2004, the shop was already an institution.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2022
“It is quintessential,” Magus co-owner Hanna McElroy laughs.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2022
On virtually any trip to Magus, browsers are likely to eavesdrop on some of the best conversations in the city.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2022
Simon Magus, tempted by beholding the gifts of the Holy Spirit visibly bestowed on imposition of the Apostles' hands, "offered them money," to both Peter and John.
From St. Peter, His Name and His Office As set forth in holy scripture by Allies, Thomas W.
And a venom peptide from a cone snail, Conus magus, led to Prialt, a chronic pain drug.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 27, 2022
Burgess originally intended to capture Death but when Dream materializes instead, unconscious and helpless, the "magus" decides he'll do just fine.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2022
A financial magus in Manhattan stipulates in his will that his possessions be sold.
From New York Times ● Sep. 14, 2017
More famously, a 1983 novel is written as a fictional diary by Oscar Wilde, a photograph of whom decorates his study, sandwiched between Thomas More and the Elizabethan magus John Dee.
From The Guardian ● May 20, 2017
It was a construction she must have once overheard, and she had uttered it in blind faith, like an apprentice mouthing the incantation of a magus.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
To figure out what AI-driven search should look like, the company began a multiteam effort called Project Magi, led by Liz Reid, who became Google’s vice president of search in 2024.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
Already owning 23 cats at the time, she was reluctant to say yes, but a familiar Scottish voice on the other end of the phone told her: "Magi, take the cat!"
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2025
Nobody can tell you whether any of them knew a Magi from a Musketeer, not to mention that the Roman Empire they worked under was a failed administration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2025
“We are called instead to set out and journey, like the Magi, following the light that always desires to lead us on, at times along unexplored paths and new roads.”
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 21, 2023
There was great excitement in the Ruiz household on January 6, the Day of the Three Kings, when children received gifts as a symbol of those the Magi had brought to the Christ child.
From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
