meigo

Galician

FWOTD – 25 September 2016

Etymology

Attested since 1175 (meigu). From Old Galician-Portuguese, from Latin magicus (“magical”), from Ancient Greek μαγικός (magikós). Compare Portuguese meigo, Spanish mego.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈmejɡo/ [ˈmej.ɣ̞ʊ]

• IPA^(key): (standard) /ˈmejɡo/ [ˈmej.ɣ̞ʊ]
• IPA^(key): (gheada) /ˈmejħo/ [ˈmej.ħʊ]

 

• Rhymes: -ejɡo

• (standard) Rhymes: -ejɡo
• (gheada) Rhymes: -ejħo

• Hyphenation: mei‧go

Adjective

meigo (feminine meiga, masculine plural meigos, feminine plural meigas)

1. bewitching, seductive

Noun

meigo m (plural meigos, feminine meiga, feminine plural meigas)

1. a wizard, a witch doctor
   • 2013, David D. Vázquez Álvarez, Ninguén nace antetempo, Baía Edicións, page 103:

     —as palabras do meigo unha vez máis non deixaban lugar a dúbidas—.

     —once again, the wizard’s words left no room for doubt.

2. a person who is believed to have made a pact with the devil
   • 1991, Ramón Otero Pedrayo, A romaría de Xelmírez, Editorial Galaxia, page 143:

     De aí xurdiu posteriormente a lenda de que fora un meigo que fixera pauto co demo para obte-las sedes de Reims, Ravena e Roma.

     From there, a legend later appeared stating that he was a warlock who made a pact with the devil in order to obtain the seats of Reims, Ravenna and Rome.

Usage notes

Some people make a distinction between meigo (“someone who makes potions, herbal cures, enchantments, etc.”) and bruxo (“someone who has made a pact with the devil”).

Descendants

• → Spanish: meigo

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “meigo”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Santamarina, editor (2006–2013), “meigo”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Santamarina, Ernesto X. González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “meigo”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “meigo”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese meigo, from Latin magicus (“magical”), from Ancient Greek μαγικός (magikós). Doublet of mágico, a borrowing. Cf. also Leonese meigo; compare Galician meigo, Spanish mego.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈme(j).ɡu/ [ˈme(ɪ̯).ɡu]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmɐj.ɡu/ [ˈmɐj.ɣu]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmɐj.ɡu/ [ˈmɐj.ɣu]
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmej.ɡu/ [ˈmej.ɣu]
  • (Central Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmej.ɡu/ [ˈmej.ɣu]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈme.ɡu/

• Hyphenation: mei‧go

Adjective

meigo (feminine meiga, masculine plural meigos, feminine plural meigas, comparable, comparative mais meigo, superlative o mais meigo or meiguíssimo, diminutive meiguinho)

1. sweet, lovely

   Synonym: querido

2. caring, gentle

   Synonyms: carinhoso, suave

Related terms

• mago

Further reading

• “meigo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “meigo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *megʰ-der.

Proto-Indo-European *megʰ-ú-s

Proto-Indo-Iranian *magʰúš

Proto-Iranian *magúš

Old Persian 𐎶𐎦𐏁 (m-gu-š /⁠maguš⁠/)bor.

Ancient Greek μάγος (mágos)

Proto-Indo-European *-kos

Proto-Hellenic *-kos

Ancient Greek -κός (-kós)

Ancient Greek -ικός (-ikós)

Ancient Greek μαγικός (magikós)bor.

Latin magicus

Old Galician-Portuguese meigo

Galician meigobor.

Spanish meigo

Borrowed from Galician meigo, from Old Galician-Portuguese meigo, from Latin magicus (“magical”), borrowed from Ancient Greek μαγικός (magikós, “magical”). Compare also mego. Doublet of mágico.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmeiɡo/ [ˈmei̯.ɣ̞o]
• Rhymes: -eiɡo
• Syllabification: mei‧go

Noun

meigo m (plural meigos)

1. (Asturias, Galicia, León) A person who is believed to have made a pact with the devil.

Further reading

• “meigo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025