J.K. Rowling Says Americans Have A Different Word For Muggle In "Fantastic Beasts"

‘Muggle’ can now join the likes of ‘pants’, ‘biscuits’ and ‘lift’, because J.K. Rowling says there’s another word for a non-magical person in the United States.

In Entertainment Weekly’s special on the upcoming Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (in cinemas next year), it’s revealed that the Yanks will use a different slur for those without wizardly powers.

No-maj.

Yep, ‘no-maj’ is the phrase Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) overhears when he travels to New York for his pre-Potter adventure.

Given that the Oxford Dictionary added ‘muggle’ back in 2013 – “a person who lacks a particular skill or skills, or who is regarded as inferior in some way” – will we soon see ‘no-maj’ added to its definition as a regional synonym?

All we know is Rowling plans on writing another children’s book someday, so expect a whole fleet of invented words to fly our way in the near future. No-maj is just the beginning.

Photo courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.