muggle

/ˈmʌɡəl/ (American pronunciation)

Origin

Coined by J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter book series (1997)

Meanings

1. (in the Harry Potter series) A person who lacks any sort of magical ability and was not born into the magical world
2. (informal) A person who lacks a particular skill or skills, especially a person who is not part of a particular group

Example Sentences

1. "The Dursleys were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much – they were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. In short, they were muggles." - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
2. "As a tech muggle, I felt completely lost at the coding conference."

Related Words

• Muggles (plural)
• Muggle-born (adjective)
• Non-magical (synonym)
• Mundane (synonym)
• Ordinary (synonym)

Memorization Trick

Think of "mug" (a plain, ordinary cup) + "dull" = muggle, someone ordinary or unexceptional in a particular field or context.