mage
- 01 C2 Proficiency
a person who has magic powers, like a wizard or a sorcerer.
a practitioner of magic or sorcery. Often used in modern fantasy fiction to denote a high-ranking or scholarly magic user.
Simple“The old mage lived alone in a tall tower filled with magic books.”
In context“In the epic fantasy series, the high mage was the only one capable of weaving the complex spells required to protect the city.”
UsageCommonly used in the context of fantasy gaming and literature.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
a very wise person, especially one from ancient times.
a person of great wisdom or learning. This sense is archaic and shares roots with the word 'magus'.
Simple“The king traveled for weeks to seek advice from the ancient mage.”
In context“The poet describes the philosopher as a mage who could see the hidden truths of the universe through deep study.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is rare in modern speech; learners will mostly encounter it in poetry or historical novels.
SynonymsAntonyms
From Middle English mages (plurale tantum), from Latin magus, from Ancient Greek Μάγος (Mágos), from the hapax Old Persian 𐎶𐎦𐎢𐏁 (m-gu-u-š /maguš/). Doublet of magus.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.