Magic

The Raven.

When did the term 'magic' become a verb? It is not in my dictionaries as such. I heard Alan Dukes on Primetime last night saying (about the losses to Anglo), that 'there isn't a way of magicking them away', and I have to say that it made me cringe. Has this gained common currency?

FlutterinBantam

Hopefully Dukes will never become a leader in the correctness of speech.

'Conjure' ,of course was the word he was looking for.

Donkey Oaty

To "magic away" is a transitive phrasal verb, and is recognised by some dictionaries (e.g Macmillan, Merriam-Webster).

Dukesie was onside on this occasion.

Donkey Oaty

My butler has just brought me a copy of the 1981 Collins English Dictionary, and "magic away" is in that as well.

Which dictionaries are you using, Raven?

Eliot Rosewater

The Oxford English Dictionary has an entry for magic as a verb. "trans. To transform, produce, etc., (as if) by magic. Freq. with adv. (esp. up) or adverbial phrase. Also with away: to cause to disappear (as if) by magic."

The Concice Oxford English Dictionary listed it as a verb too, albeit a British informal one. Should speakers on Primetime keep their language formal?

FlutterinBantam

If they want to preserve their gravitas then,yes.

If they want to be gathered into that great dustbin of mediocrity, hell no.

The Raven.

Donkey Oaty wrote: »

My butler has just brought me a copy of the 1981 Collins English Dictionary, and "magic away" is in that as well.

Which dictionaries are you using, Raven?

My Concise Oxford Dictionary lists it only as a noun or adjective.
My Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary also lists it only as a noun or adjective.
I only have a pocket Collins English Dictionary, but it also lists it as a noun or adjective only.
The online Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary lists it only as a noun or adjective.

However, I have since discovered that:

The online Compact Oxford English Dictionary lists it as a noun, adjective, but also lists it as a verb (magics, magicking, magicked).
The online Collins English Dictionary lists it as a noun or adjective, but also lists the verb ‘magic away’.
The online Macmillan Dictionary lists it as noun, adjective, verb (magic away, magic up)

I don’t use Merriam Webster as it is American English, and for what it's worth, my UK spellcheck also rejects it as a verb.

My understanding is that the use of the term 'magic' as a verb is a fairly recent addition to some dictionaries. Like a lot of these new additions, I personally find it irritating.