We Worked Out What 12 Of The Harry Potter Spells Translate As ... - Metro

Everyone has tried to cast a Harry Potter spell in real life, whether they admit to it or not.

But what exactly are we, and all the characters we love in the books and films, actually saying when doing so?

Despite how good they sound out loud, the spells only require a little translation to bring us to their real, and pretty apt, meanings in English.

Anyone who’s studied Latin, Greek or Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, Provençal, and Romansh) might have an inkling due to the common roots of the words Rowling chose for her fictional charms and spells.

We’ve done a little linguistic research to bring you the translations of twelve of the spells which made it into the movies, based on the old words they come from.

1. Expecto Patronum

Probably the best of all the spells, the Patronus is a literal spirit animal. It protect and guides its ‘owner’, who summons it by imagining their happiest memory.

To bring it out, a wizard or witch must say: ‘Expecto Patronum’. It is a Latin phrase which translates to ‘I wait for a protector’.

We still get emotional when we think about Snape and Lily’s Patronuses both being does because of his happiest moment was with her.

2. Wingardium Leviosa

This one, which the first year students tend to struggle with, is a hybrid of English and Latin.

It comes from the English word ‘wing’, compounded together with the Latin ‘arduus’ which means proudly elevated, and finally ‘levo’, which is Latin for rise. All together it might translate as ‘the rise of fluttering wings’.

3. Expelliarmus

This is the spell that locked Harry in an Incantatem wand battle with Voldemort in The Goblet Of Fire.

It’s commonly used to disarm an opponent of their wand in a duel and joins the Latin ‘expello’ (to disarm) with ‘armus’ (weaponry).

4. Petrificus Totalus

Poor Neville Longbottom. A combo of Greek and Latin left him flat on the floor.

Petrificus Totalus combines ‘petros’ – meaning rock in Greek – with Latin words ‘facio’, meaning ‘to make’, and ‘totalis’, meaning whole. So maybe ‘I turn you to stone’ all together.

5. Stupefy

Described as ‘a wizard’s bread a butter really’ by Harry, the Stupefy spell stuns your opponent.

A rather straightforward translation is required as it is derived from the Latin ‘stupeo’ meaning ‘to stun’.

6. Accio

We’ve all wished we could use this spell after losing our keys for the millionth time.

Harry uses it to fetch his Firebolt broom from the castle so he can escape a dragon, obvs. It translates from Latin to mean ‘I summon’ or ‘I send for’.

7. Confundus

This charm is designed to mess with your head temporarily. Hermione uses it to distract a goalkeeper during a Quidditch match to help Ron.

It comes from the Latin ‘confundo’, which means – you guessed it – ‘to confuse’ or ‘to perplex’.

8. Imperio

One of the three Unforgivable Curses, the Imperius curse allows you to control the object of your magic’s every move.

It comes from the Latin verb ‘to rule’, or the imperative ‘to command’.

9. Lumos

This one comes from the Latin word ‘lumen’, meaning lamp or torch.

In the books it creates a light at the end of the wand to help navigate all those candle-lit hallways.

10. Riddikulus

‘Riddikulus’, a lovely word by all acounts, literally translates from the Latin as ‘silly’ or ‘laughable’.

Silly as it is, we’d personally have liked Snape to have worn this outfit throughout the movies. It’s just so him.

11. Obliviate

Hermione uses this spell to wipe her Muggle parents’ memories in the final movie, and Professor Lockhart’s spell backfires on him in Chamber Of Secrets.

Obliviate comes from the medieval Latin word ‘obliviscor’ which means ‘I forget’.

12. Nox

Working nicely as a visual mic drop, the Nox charm is pretty much the opposite of Lumos. It snuffs out light, or creates darkness. It comes directly from ‘nox’ the Latin word for night.

And on that note, time to get our Nox on, grab the popcorn, say ‘Accio Harry Potter DVDs’ and Stupefy ourselves with an HP marathon.

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