plural noun, singular Ma·gus [mey-guh s] /ˈmeɪ gəs/
- (sometimes lowercase) the wise men, generally assumed to be three in number, who paid homage to the infant Jesus. Matt. 2:1–12.Compare Balthazar(def 1), Caspar(def 1), Melchior(def 1).
- (sometimes lowercase) the class of Zoroastrian priests in ancient Media and Persia, reputed to possess supernatural powers.
- (lowercase) astrologers.
pl n singular magus (ˈmeɪɡəs)
- the Zoroastrian priests of the ancient Medes and Persians
- the three magi 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
n.c.1200, “skilled magicians, astrologers,” from Latin magi, plural of magus “magician, learned magician,” from Greek magos, a word used for the Persian learned and priestly class as portrayed in the Bible (said by ancient historians to have been originally the name of a Median tribe), from Old Persian magush “magician” (see magic). Related: Magian. The sages who visited Jesus soon after his birth. (See Wise Men.)