How excited was I that the OED had a definition for Ms. Rowling's muggle? Very excited.
Mug is a British colloquial term referring to a "foolish or stupid appearance" or "a stupid or incompetent person." This makes sense, not that muggles are incompetent, but that they are lacking in the area of magical knowledge; they are ignorant. Also, muggins is a British slang for a "fool or simpleton." And, muggill was a slang for a "Beadle." This last definition makes less sense. But this is just further evidence of the brilliance of Harry Potter, and I thought she just made up the word.
No comments:
Post a Comment