Learn Greek › B1 › μάγια
μάγια
spells (witchcraft cast on someone) /ˈma.ʝa/
nounB1#1486 most common
Also: witchcraft, black magic, a curse/hex
Example sentences
Η γιαγιά μου πιστεύει στα μάγια.
My grandmother believes in spells.
Στα παραμύθια, οι μάγισσες κάνουν μάγια.
In fairy tales, witches cast spells.
Νομίζει ότι της έκαναν μάγια.
She thinks someone put a spell on her.
Πήγε σε μια γριά να της κάνει μάγια για να γυρίσει ο άντρας της.
She went to an old woman to have a spell cast so her husband would come back.
Στα χωριά της Ηπείρου ακόμα υπάρχουν γυναίκες που λένε ότι ξέρουν να κάνουν μάγια.
In the villages of Epirus there are still women who say they know how to cast spells.
Η επιστήμη απορρίπτει την ύπαρξη μαγιών, όμως η λαϊκή παράδοση εξακολουθεί να τα φοβάται.
Science rejects the existence of spells, but folk tradition still fears them.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | το μάγι | τα μάγια |
| Genitive | του μαγιού | των μαγιών |
| Accusative | το μάγι | τα μάγια |
| Vocative | μάγι | μάγια |
Word family
μάγοςmagician, wizard
μάγισσαwitch, sorceress
μαγείαmagic, enchantmentμαγικόςmagicalμαγεύωto bewitch, to enchant
Etymology
Μάγια belongs to the same word family as μάγος, the Greek term for a magician, which Greek borrowed from Old Persian magu-, a word for a Zoroastrian priest. Scholars often link this Persian root to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to have power,' the same root behind English 'may' and 'might.' Greek built an entire cluster of magic-related words around this root, and μάγια settled into its own narrow sense: the spells or curses that folk belief says someone can lay on another person.
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