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I known that most words have an origin/root, such as the word "science" comes from the Latin word “scienta” meaning knowledge. So I was wondering if anyone could tell me the origin/root of the words "reincarnate" and "magic".

2007-04-15 15:26:32 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture Languages

4 answers

reincarnation :
1. from Late Latin (the literary Latin language as spoken and written c.300-c.700) incarnationem (nom. incarnatio), "act of being made flesh" (used by Church writers esp. of God in Christ),
2. from Classical Latin (the Italic language of ancient Rome until about 4c.). incarnatus, past participle. of incarnare "to make flesh,"
3. combination of "in" + caro (another form of "carnis" -as in the word carnivore- which means "flesh.") meaning "in flesh"

magic ("art of influencing events and producing marvels,")
1. from Old French - magique,
2. from Latin - magice : sorcery, magic
3. from Greek. - magike, feminine of magikos : magical
4. from Old Persian magush,
5. from Proto-Indo-European (the hypothetical reconstructed ancestral language of the Indo-European family. The time scale is much debated, but the most recent date proposed for it is about 5,500 years ago) - magh : "to be able, to have power"

2007-04-15 15:56:41 · answer #1 · answered by Leslie P 1 · 0 0

I don't know about "magic", sorry. But I can tell you about "reincarnate". "Carne" in Latin (and Spanish) means "meat" or "flesh". So, "incarnate" means "to become flesh", that is, being born. "Reincarnate" means "to be born again".

2007-04-15 22:35:57 · answer #2 · answered by ArTeKS 3 · 0 0

'Re' means again, 'carne' means flesh - so 'back in flesh'.
'Magi' comes from the Old Persian 'magus', and old tribe from Medea who responsible for funeral and religious practices. In the early days, magic played a larger role in many religions.

2007-04-15 22:40:06 · answer #3 · answered by WMD 7 · 0 0

For the word "magic" check out this link:

http://www.magicandillusion.com/libr/orig/intr/intr01.html

2007-04-15 22:36:21 · answer #4 · answered by Guy P. 3 · 0 0

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