Magi

Or ma·gi

[mey-jahy, maj-ahy]

plural noun

singular

Magus 

1. null the Magi, in the Bible, the astrologers who paid homage to the young child Jesus, traditionally assumed to be three in number and to be named Balthazar, Caspar, and Melchior.

2. the class of Zoroastrian priests in ancient Media and Persia, reputed to possess supernatural powers.

3. magi, people who are believed to have expertise in interpreting the assumed influence of the stars, moon, and planets on human affairs; astrologers.

magi

/ ˈmeɪdʒaɪ, ˈmeɪdʒɪən /

plural noun

1. the Zoroastrian priests of the ancient Medes and Persians

2. the wise men from the East who came to do homage to the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:1–12) and traditionally called Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar

Magi

1. The sages who visited Jesus soon after his birth. (See Wise Men.)

Other Word Forms

• Magian adjective
• magian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Magi¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Magus

Example Sentences

These wise men, or magi, will eventually arrive at the manger on Jan. 6, also known as Epiphany or Three Kings Day.

From Los Angeles Times

This “accessible and deeply human” portrait of four “notoriously incomprehensible” thinkers, as our reviewer, John Kaag, described them, posits that “intellectual magi” met interwar turbulence by conjuring “a new world.”

From New York Times

Connect these three Toms and you have the three magi attending the birth of a new Los Angeles, an ecumenical place, a confident place, a city no longer a Hollywood coat-holder or New York also-ran.

From Los Angeles Times

His thoughts, however, were exalted: predestination, God’s all-commanding word, Jesus’ living and suffering among us, Christmas with its angels, magi and shepherds.

From Los Angeles Times

He patiently draws these four intellectual magi out of the shadows of their writings, which often tend toward complete opacity.

From New York Times