مجوس

Arabic

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Majus

Wikipedia

Root
م ج س (m j s)
2 terms

Etymology

From Aramaic 𐡌𐡂𐡅𐡔 (mgwš), from Old Persian 𐎶𐎦𐏁 (maguš).^[1]

Was used by the Iraqi Baathist regime to refer to Iran during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, and later developed into a broadly anti-Shi'a slur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.d͡ʒuːs/

Noun

مَجُوس • (majūs) m pl (collective, singulative مَجُوسِيّ m (majūsiyy))

1. (collective) Magians, (collective, historical) Zoroastrians
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 22:17:
     (translated by Yusuf Ali)

     إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَٱلَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَٱلصَّابِئِينَ وَٱلنَّصَارَىٰ وَٱلْمَجُوسَ وَٱلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفْصِلُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ

     ʔinna llaḏīna ʔāmanū wallaḏīna hādū waṣ-ṣābiʔīna wan-naṣārā wal-majūsa wallaḏīna ʔašrakū ʔinna l-laha yafṣilu baynahum yawma l-qiyāmati ʔinna l-laha ʕalā kulli šayʔin šahīdun

     Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians, Christians, Magians, and Polytheists,- Allah will judge between them on the Day of Judgment: for Allah is witness of all things.

2. (ethnic slur) Iranians
3. (religious slur) Shi'as

Declension

Collective	basic collective triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	مَجُوس majūs	الْمَجُوس al-majūs	مَجُوس majūs
Nominative	مَجُوسٌ majūsun	الْمَجُوسُ al-majūsu	مَجُوسُ majūsu
Accusative	مَجُوسًا majūsan	الْمَجُوسَ al-majūsa	مَجُوسَ majūsa
Genitive	مَجُوسٍ majūsin	الْمَجُوسِ al-majūsi	مَجُوسِ majūsi
Singulative	basic singulative triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	مَجُوسِي majūsī	الْمَجُوسِي al-majūsī	مَجُوسِي majūsī
Nominative	مَجُوسِيٌّ majūsiyyun	الْمَجُوسِيُّ al-majūsiyyu	مَجُوسِيُّ majūsiyyu
Accusative	مَجُوسِيًّا majūsiyyan	الْمَجُوسِيَّ al-majūsiyya	مَجُوسِيَّ majūsiyya
Genitive	مَجُوسِيٍّ majūsiyyin	الْمَجُوسِيِّ al-majūsiyyi	مَجُوسِيِّ majūsiyyi
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	مَجُوسِيَّيْن majūsiyyayn	الْمَجُوسِيَّيْن al-majūsiyyayn	مَجُوسِيَّيْ majūsiyyay
Nominative	مَجُوسِيَّانِ majūsiyyāni	الْمَجُوسِيَّانِ al-majūsiyyāni	مَجُوسِيَّا majūsiyyā
Accusative	مَجُوسِيَّيْنِ majūsiyyayni	الْمَجُوسِيَّيْنِ al-majūsiyyayni	مَجُوسِيَّيْ majūsiyyay
Genitive	مَجُوسِيَّيْنِ majūsiyyayni	الْمَجُوسِيَّيْنِ al-majūsiyyayni	مَجُوسِيَّيْ majūsiyyay
Paucal (3-10)	sound masculine paucal
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	مَجُوسِيِّين majūsiyyīn	الْمَجُوسِيِّين al-majūsiyyīn	مَجُوسِيِّي majūsiyyī
Nominative	مَجُوسِيُّونَ majūsiyyūna	الْمَجُوسِيُّونَ al-majūsiyyūna	مَجُوسِيُّو majūsiyyū
Accusative	مَجُوسِيِّينَ majūsiyyīna	الْمَجُوسِيِّينَ al-majūsiyyīna	مَجُوسِيِّي majūsiyyī
Genitive	مَجُوسِيِّينَ majūsiyyīna	الْمَجُوسِيِّينَ al-majūsiyyīna	مَجُوسِيِّي majūsiyyī

Declension of noun مَجُوس (majūs)

Derived terms

• مَجَّسَ (majjasa, “to Zoroastrianize”)
• مَجُوسِيّ (majūsiyy, “Zoroastrian; of or related to Zoroastrians”)

 

Descendants

• → Persian: مَجوس (majus)

References

1. Cheung, Johnny (2017) On the (Middle) Iranian borrowings in Qurʾānic (and pre-Islamic) Arabic‎, Leiden: Leiden University, page 16

Persian

Etymology

Reborrowed from Arabic مَجُوس (majūs, “Magian”) ultimately from Old Persian 𐎶𐎦𐏁 (maguš, “Mazdean Priest”)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [ma.d͡ʒuːs]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [mä.d͡ʒuːs]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [mä.d͡ʒuːs]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [mä.d͡ʒuːs]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [mä.d͡ʒus]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [mæ.d͡ʒuːs]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [mä.d͡ʒus]

Readings
Classical reading?	majūs
Dari reading?	majūs
Iranian reading?	majus
Tajik reading?	majus

Dari	مجوس
Iranian Persian
Tajik	маҷус

Noun

مجوس • (majus) (plural مجوسان (majusân))

1. Magus, Magian
   • c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume I, verse 3922:

     هر که را آتش پناه و پشت شد
     هم مجوسی گشت و هم زردشت شد

     har ki rā ātiš panāh u pušt šud
     ham majūs-ē gašt u ham zardušt šud

     Any one to whom fire is a refuge and support
     becomes both a Magian and a Zoroaster.

References

• Hayyim, Sulayman (1934) “مجوس”, in New Persian–English dictionary, Teheran: Librairie-imprimerie Béroukhim