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Magbob was an ancient term for a wizard of Muggle descent, meant to be a term of endearment. The term was popular prior to the formation of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in 1692, in a period which most wizards considered Muggle-borns to be more gifted than wizards of purely magical blood. Following the circumstances that led to the Statute of Secrecy, wizards began to seriously distrust Muggles, pure-blood supremacy became widespread and the term fell out of favour.[1]

Etymology[]

  • Though there is dispute over the origins of the term, "Magbob" is mostly like a portmanteau of "magic" and "bob", thus implying that a Magbob's magic "bobbed up" out of nowhere.[1]
  • The word "Magic" came up in late Middle English – its roots introduced in England only after the Norman Invasion in 1066, around 73 years after the founding of Hogwarts – due to which Magbob might from the Old French "magique" and the 14th-century sense of "bob" - moving with a jerky motion.
  • The word could just as well be a portmanteau formed in the 1540s, when both, the modern sense of 'Magic' and 'Bob' were firmly formed. But since the word is supposedly coeval with Salazar Slytherin, this seems unlikely.

Appearances[]

See also[]

  • Mudblood, a more modern term with the exact opposite intent.

Notes and references[]

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