Definition of "magic"

magic

/ˈmad͡ʒɪk/

noun
usually uncountable, plural magics
1. The 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.
  Quotations
  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, 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
2. A specific ritual or procedure associated with such magic; a spell; a magical ability.
  Quotations
  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
  "I am the master of mighty magics."
  2017, Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 116
3. The supernatural forces which are drawn on in such a ritual.
4. (gaming, countable) The ability to cast a magic spell.
5. Something producing successful and remarkable results, especially when not fully understood; an enchanting quality; exceptional skill.
  Quotations
  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, 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. (computing, slang) Complicated or esoteric code that is not expected to be generally understood.
    Quotations
    The stringstream class hides a lot of string parsing magic from us at this point.
    2017, Jacek Galowicz, C++17 STL Cookbook, page 257
6. A conjuring trick or illusion performed to give the appearance of supernatural phenomena or powers.
7. The art or practice of performing conjuring tricks and illusions.
adjective
not comparable
1. Having supernatural talents, properties or qualities attributed to magic.
2. Producing extraordinary results, as though through the use of magic.
3. Pertaining to conjuring tricks or illusions performed for entertainment etc.
4. (colloquial) Great; excellent.
5. (physics) Describing the number of nucleons in a particularly stable isotopic nucleus; 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, 126, and 184.
6. (programming) Being a literal number or string value with no meaning or context, not defined as a constant or variable
verb
third-person singular simple present magics, present participle magicking, simple past and past participle magicked
1. (transitive) To produce, transform (something), (as if) by magic.
  Quotations
  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, page 132
  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