Magic

The Raven. · 03-09-2010 07:06PM #1

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 · 03-09-2010 07:29PM

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

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

Donkey Oaty · 03-09-2010 11:57PM

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 · 04-09-2010 12:15AM

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 · 04-09-2010 08:13AM

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 · 04-09-2010 01:43PM

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. · 05-09-2010 07:00PM

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.

Magic

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