A Muggle is a term from the fictional Harry Potter series of books which refers to a human with no magical abilities who doesn't belong to a wizarding family. See Magic (Harry Potter) for more information.
The term has found its way into more common English usage by those in small specialized groups to refer to those outside the group. This sense comes from the fact that the magical people in the Harry Potter universe are far outnumbered by the muggles.
The word "muggle" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 1993.
Examples:
- Some Wiccans and other neopagans use the term when referring to non-pagans, though others deprecate this usage as prejudicial.
- IT support industry folk use it when referring to computer-illiterate users.
- Geocachers use it when referring to more typical hikers and pedestrians.
- Ravers use the term when referring to non-electronic dance music fans.
Muggle was also marijuana-related jazz slang in the early 20th century; see: Muggles.
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