J.K. Rowling's epic saga about the eponymous boy wizard Rowling's imaginary world, complete with its very own vocabulary, has left a stunning legacy for all those who adore fantasy.
One of the most fascinating things about Harry's world is the different spells, curses, and charms---some are dark and capable of causing irreparable harm, some are basic for everyday use, and others are simply evil. Rowling plays around with Greek, French, and Latin root words to conjure, quite literally, the that are known in the wizarding world as spells. Let us look at the etymology of ten such spells that Rowling twisted until it formed the perfect incantations.
Expelliarmus
One of Harry's favorite spells, the one he used against Voldemort himself in the final Battle of Hogwarts, expelliarmus causes the opponent to let go of his wand involuntarily.
The term is a combination of the word 'expel', itself derived from the Latin roots, 'ex', and 'pellere' meaning 'to drive out'. The second half of the term is derived from the Latin for 'arm'. Together, the words come to mean something to the effect of 'driving out of or expelling from the arm'.
Accio
The summoning charm is used extensively in the wizarding world to call upon wands, books, or any other objects in day to day life. A particularly useful spell, let us look at its linguistic root.
In Latin, 'to summon' is 'accerso', which Rowling brilliantly turns into accio. One of the most memorable moments when Harry used the summoning charm was during the first event of the Triwizard Tournament in the book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when he confronted the majestic Hungarian Horntail.
Lumos-Nox
This is a very handy spell used to produce a burst of light from the tip of the wand. It literally helps lighten up a dark place, something Harry takes advantage of several times during his late-night gallivanting around the Hogwarts castle, especially with the Marauder's Map. Fans will also him uttering lumos to complete his homework without switching on the light in his room at the Dursleys during the holidays.
The word is rooted in the Latin for light, 'lumen'. The counter incantation for this is nox, i.e. to darken. Nox in Latin means 'night'. The two are simple, yet opposites of each other, in every sense.
Obliviate
This is the spell to wipe out memories, make one oblivious of things, or have their memories fade into oblivion. Before the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione sets out to seek the Horcruxes, the latter uses the spell to ensure that her parents did not her, so as to keep them safe from Voldemort and his henchmen.
The memory charm derives from the Old French, 'oblivion' which itself comes from the Latin 'oblīviscī' meaning 'to forget' or 'forgetfulness'. While one can keep one's loved one's safe by erasing certain memories, the same charm can be used to do something evil and then simply obliviate the memories of witnesses.
Petrificus Totalus
An incantation that effectively results in paralyzing the individual it is directed to--pertificus totalus is the body-binding spell. If one wanted to immobilize an opponent, as Malfoy did to Harry in the sixth installment Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, this is the go-to spell.
The word petrificus is an amalgamation of the Greek word 'petro' meaning 'rock' and 'ficus' referring to 'bringing' or 'making'. And totalus is, of course, a play with the word 'totally'. Thus, the spell basically means 'turning something completely into a rock', ergo petrifying them so that they cannot move.
Wingardium Leviosa
One of Ron's earliest run-ins with Hermione, who was at the time nothing but an insufferable know-it-all, was when the class practiced the spell Wingardium Leviosa during Professor Flitwick's charms lesson. Ron, bless his soul, couldn't get his feather to float, until Hermione showed him how. It was Leviosa, not Leviosa.
The first half of the term is possibly a conjugate of the words 'wing' which naturally means 'to fly' and the Latin root word 'arduus' meaning high or difficult to reach. The second half is more literal, as 'levi' in Latin means 'to lift'. Hence, the spell essentially means to fly high or levitate.
Expecto Patronum
A crucial spell in Harry's fight against the dark forces was expecto patronum. The caster of the spell had to imagine his or her happiest memory and utter the incantation which would conjure a powerful patronus that could take the form of an animal. Harry's of course, took the shape of a stag, the animagus form of his father, James. It was Remus Lupin who taught him the spell for the first time to drive away dementors in his third year at Hogwarts.
'Expecto', as one might imagine is derived from the same roots that give rise to the word expectation. It means 'to expect' or 'to anticipate' and 'patronus' in Latin means 'patron' or 'guardian'. The English word 'patronage' is conceived of the latter. Morphed together, expecto patronus comes to mean 'expecting or anticipating a guardian or patron', and what is the patronus but a protective guardian to the caster?
Imperio
One of the three Unforgivable Curses, the Imperius curse was used by dark wizards and disciples of the Dark Lord Voldemort, to control a victim. During the darkest times in the wizarding world, when Voldemort had risen to exceptional power, his underlings had used the curse on scores of people to get them to do their bidding. The victim would not any dark deed he or she might have committed while under the spell.
In Latin, the word 'ad imperium' means 'to control'. The spell for the curse is imperio which basically means to govern, rule, or simply power. This makes sense since the person who casts this spell has infinite power over the victim, getting him or her to do practically anything, even to the extent of killing themselves. When Harry and his friends sneak into Gringotts with the goblin Griphook, the latter uses the imperius curse to control another goblin.
Crucio
Another Unforgivable Curse which would inevitably have the witch or wizard who'd cast it land up in Azkaban, the Cruciatus curse is used to torture, causing them excruciating pain. The spell used for this is crucio.
In fact, the word 'excruciating' has the same etymology as does cruciatus, both of which derive from the Latin verb 'cruciare'' meaning 'to crucify'. It is a testament to Rowling's extraordinary genius that she was able to coin an entire repertoire of words such as this from Latin and Greek roots.
Avada Kedavra
The deadliest curse of all in the entire wizarding world, avada kedavra, is the Killing curse. It is the most terrible of the Unforgivable Curses; Harry first heard about it during his fourth year in Hogwarts in the Defence Against Dark Arts class (which was taught by Barty Crouch Jr., posing as the auror Mad-Eye Moody).
Fans might already have figured this one out, avada kedavra is basically the word 'abracadabra', scrambled. Abracadabra is a signature incantation used by magicians worldwide, a bit of hocus pocus to impress audiences. There is some debate regarding the origins of the word but Rowling herself has claimed that she twisted the word 'abracadabra', originally Aramaic, meant 'to destroy the thing' wherein she creatively imagined the thing as a person. Hence, destroy the person.
