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Wizards and witches[]

I think that it's kind of strange that the title just says 'Wizards' and not witches. Scarletmoon579 14:49, February 14, 2010 (UTC)

The main generic name for a specific group in nearly always the same as the male variant; wizards can refer to both wizards and witches, just as mankind refers to both men and women. --  Seth Cooper  owl post! 15:34, February 14, 2010 (UTC)
What I find problematic about this article's current title is how it does not follow the singular-form article titling convention, e.g. Broomstick, Centaur, Goblin, Muggle, Owl, etc. We could use the singular form, "wizard," which, just like "man," can mean either "male person" or "human." However, if gender inclusivity is a concern, we could opt for the collective noun "wizardkind," which is used in the introduction of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Starstuff (Owl me!) 16:27, November 26, 2010 (UTC)
I must say I agree. Since we have Merpeople, wizardkind, said by both Gilderoy Lockhart and in The Tales of Beedle the Bard, should be used for this article. -- Bee T. Are(Call me!!) 13:34, January 15, 2011 (UTC)
Bumping (after 3 months). -- Bee T. Are(Call me!!) 19:41, April 20, 2011 (UTC)
Moved the page to Wizardkind based on the precedent set by Merpeople. Starstuff (Owl me!) 21:08, June 17, 2011 (UTC)

Page-top Quote[]

Not that it isn't a good quote, but should it really be something by J.K. Rowling? I thought page-top quotes for in-universe articles were supposed to be something by one of the characters, or else it puts it out-of-universe. ProfessorTofty 05:14, January 3, 2012 (UTC)

Agreed - but then what should it be?

Felix Alan Cadmus Scamander 07:09, April 16, 2016 (UTC)

This quotation now has a {{fact}} tag applied, meaning it presumably needs sourcing to wherever it came from? If someone wants to change it to something from the books or say Pottermore that isn't directly a Rowling quote then I wouldn't mind, but maybe give some suggestions here though before a decision is made on which one to best use. RedWizard98 (talk) 14:54, 11 March 2023 (UTC)

Weirdness[]

Well I am just saying this, so why are their like only five school for wizards in europe, also why are they like nearly all related or something, I mean that most "Pure-Bloods" do inbreed.

Explain?

Felix Alan Cadmus Scamander 07:10, April 16, 2016 (UTC)

Image[]

Since we've changed the images for other beings like vampires and centaurs to the images used on a question from the sorting quiz on Pottermore, do we want to do the same here? They aren't part of that question, but there are several images of "generic" wizards used for many questions. -- 1337star (Drop me a line!) 01:10, May 12, 2012 (UTC)

I personally am in favour of a "generic" wizard image on here, do you want me to surf and find one? I could, probably in an hour or so, have an image on here. --Hunniebunn (talk) 01:48, October 6, 2012 (UTC)


QUESTION[]

Question, if Wizardkind had a sienctic name for it, what do you think it would be? Like, humans are Homo Sapiens, so Wizardkind would be Homo _____? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Aris0069 (talkcontribs).

Wizards are human. -- Saxon 15:07, December 18, 2018 (UTC)

I consider the magical race similar to the mutant race of the Marvel Universe, a subspecies resulting from natural mutation and evolution. Both are a subspecies of humanity and can interbreed, but still a genetically distinct one with unique characteristics. Mutants in Marvel are referred to as Homo Sapiens Superior--they keep the first two titles, but with the added distinction that classifies them as their own race. I would probably expect wizards to be Homo Sapiens Magi, or Homo Sapiens Magicus or something equally bizarre.Njchrispatrick (talk) 16:47, December 18, 2018 (UTC) Njchrispatrick 17:46, December 18, 2018

Wizards are plain old Homo sapiens. Magical ability is described by Rowling as an ordinary Mendelian trait, genetically inherited, "dominant and resilient". --  Seth Cooper  owl post! 17:45, December 18, 2018 (UTC)
That's exactly what a subspecies is. Similar to how different breeds of dogs look completely different but can interbreed normally. Wizards are still human, but that shared genetic factor which results in a nevertheless distinct minority still qualifies them as a subspecies of baseline humanity. The fact that magic is a genetic factor only reinforces that fact. Now, if magic were learned, or just a random gift with no genetic ties, it would be a different story.  -- Njchrispatrick (talk) 16:47, December 18, 2018 (UTC) Njchrispatrick 17:46, December 18, 2018
Not really, no. People with blue eyes are not a different subspecies of human, for instance; neither are people of different ethnicity or skin colour. Indeed, different breeds of dogs do not constitute different subspecies at all (all dog breeds are Canis lupus familiaris).
A subspecies is usually defined as an aggregate of phenotypically similar populations of a species inhabiting a geographic subdivision of the range of that species and differing taxonomically from other populations of that species — basically put, a recognised local variant of a species. Which wizards aren't. --  Seth Cooper  owl post! 18:51, December 18, 2018 (UTC)


True, but magic is just more than just an aestetic difference, and the term "subspecies" has always been a rather flexible one. Beings with magical blood possess immunities and vulnerablities that do not exist in the Muggle counterparts, such as Dragon Pox, blood-based abilities tied to that magical genome, like Parseltongue, and a wide variety of other differences beyond just whether or not they have one identical trait like blue eyes would be. And geographic distinction is the norm, but not the only factor; and even if it was, the magical community's isolation is so extreme that it could fit the bill. Given how little we know about the birthrate of Muggleborns and Squibs, it could be that (again to use the X-Men metaphor) the wizards are destined to replace the ordinary humans; or, in reverse, that they could be dying out.
I do get what you're saying, but given what we know about the magical community they seem to be much more than just people who carry a random genetic quirk. There's a deeper level to this, but--unless Rowling suddenly achieves a PhD in Genetics and explains it--it is only speculation. (I did enjoy your rebuttal very much though, so thanks for offering me a chance to delve into the genetic theory of it.) -- Njchrispatrick (talk) 22:51, December 18, 2018

Word usage[]

GSnitch This discussion is listed as an active talk page.
Please remove this template when the question has been answered.

Hi, if this is answered somewhere, I failed to locate it. So, um, how do you guys phrase "two individuals that are magical but with unknown gender"? Like, if it's 2 guys, it'd just be two wizards, and 2 girls, two witches, but with unknown gender? My first thought was to use the word "Wizardkind" but I'm not sure that's the right way to go; I think of it kind of like "mankind" and it's uncountable? Is "two Wizardkind(s?)" grammatically correct? (I didn't think it is, so asking.) The article suggests that wizard is sometimes used in a gender neutral way, so in this case, should it be "two wizards" even though we don't know if they are both male, or even if one of them is at all? (I'm asking this because the text for Man who gave Mr Roberts Galleons to me reads there's two individuals.) Thanks. --Sammm✦✧(talk) 10:54, 20 June 2021 (UTC)

How about saying that "these individuals are members of the wizarding community of Great Britain?" Tfoc (talk) 11:26, 20 June 2021 (UTC)
.... You don't think that's too long to be put in a conjectural article title? Are you seriously suggesting "Two members of the wizarding community of Great Britain who gave Mr Roberts Galleons" to be an acceptable article title? I'm not saying the description is wrong, but since I failed to make the purpose of the inquiry clear, hopefully people won't suggest something even longer. --Sammm✦✧(talk) 11:46, 20 June 2021 (UTC)
How about "Unidentified payers of Mr Roberts"? - Kates39 (talk) 11:56, 20 June 2021 (UTC)
That would make it seem like the article refers to everyone who paid Roberts that day, even those who paid him in muggle money. What would be so wrong with 'Unidentified individuals who tried to pay Mr Roberts with Galleons'? -  MrSiriusBlack  Talk  13:02, 20 June 2021 (UTC)
(About to be off to bed so won't be able to comment until much later.) For suggestions specifically on how to handle the article rename, please head over Category talk:Candidates for renaming#Man who gave Mr Roberts Galleons for further discussions.
I'd still like to know the politically correct way to address multiple (a specific number) individuals that are wizardkind but with unknown gender. Please stay on topic, thanks! --Sammm✦✧(talk) 17:49, 20 June 2021 (UTC)

Magicians[]

The article says wizardkind may be known as magicians. Magician is what Wikipedia calls an umbrella name for all magic practitioners in fantasy, but I can't recall its usage in HP. I know Vernon Dursley once called James Potter a "failed magician" but I think that was more a comparison to Muggle magicians. RedWizard98 (talk) 21:33, 25 July 2023 (UTC)

Abilities and physiologies were indistinguishable.[]

"However one inherited their magic made no difference whatsoever — a pure-blood's, half-blood's, and Muggle-born's abilities and physiologies were indistinguishable." I need to find this sourse because I'll use this, can someone tell me?Pevo971 (talk) 06:58, 3 January 2024 (UTC)

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