Most Harry Potter spells are built from Latin, and their meanings are hiding in plain sight. Accio is Latin for “I summon,” Crucio means “I torture,” and Lumos comes from lumen, “light.” A few famous ones break the pattern: Rowling traced Avada Kedavra to Aramaic, and Wingardium Leviosa smuggles in the English word “wing.”
Below you will find 25 well-known spells with what they do, which language they come from and what they literally mean. Along the way, we flag the spells whose origins are shaky, because some of the most repeated “facts” about them are closer to rumor than to a dictionary entry. Explore our language evolution and translation for details.
Key Takeaways
- Most incantations are real or lightly modified Latin, and several are complete Latin verbs in the “I do this” form.
- Not every spell is Latin: Episkey and Anapneo are Greek, Scourgify and Muffliato are English at heart, and Petrificus Totalus mixes Greek with Latin.
- J.K. Rowling said Avada Kedavra comes from an Aramaic phrase behind “abracadabra,” but dictionaries treat the origin of “abracadabra” as unknown.
- The story that Alohomora means “friendly to thieves” in a West African dialect is widely repeated and hard to confirm.
- Rowling’s spell Latin is playful, not classroom Latin, so endings and spellings are often bent for sound.
Why Are Harry Potter Spells in Latin?
Latin has been the language of European scholarship, law, medicine and the church for centuries, so it already sounds old, learned and a little mysterious to English speakers. That makes it a natural fit for an ancient school of magic.
Rowling also knew the territory. She studied French and the classics at the University of Exeter, and Latin turns up all over her world, not just in the spells. The Hogwarts motto, Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus, translates as “never tickle a sleeping dragon,” and character names such as Severus, Albus and Lupin all have Latin meanings, as the official Wizarding World feature on why Latin mattered to the books points out.
There is a practical bonus too. English borrowed thousands of words from Latin, so readers can often guess what a spell does before anyone waves a wand. Reparo looks like “repair.” Incendio looks like “incendiary.” The meaning arrives half a second before the magic does. Explore our linguistic nuances in translation for details.
What Do the Most Famous Harry Potter Spells Mean?
Here are 25 of the best-known spells in alphabetical order. Where an origin is a best guess, the table says “likely” or “reportedly.”
| Spell | What it does | Language root and literal meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Accio | Summons an object to the caster | Latin accio, “I summon” or “I call” |
| Alohomora | Unlocks doors | Not Latin. Reportedly from a West African “Sidiki” dialect, meaning “friendly to thieves” (unconfirmed) |
| Anapneo | Clears a blocked airway | Greek anapneo, “I draw breath” |
| Avada Kedavra | The Killing Curse: causes instant death | Aramaic, according to Rowling, who glossed it as “let the thing be destroyed” |
| Confundo | Confuses and befuddles the target | Latin confundo, “I mix together, I confuse” |
| Crucio | The Cruciatus Curse: inflicts unbearable pain | Latin crucio, “I torture,” from crux, “cross” |
| Diffindo | Cuts or splits an object | Latin diffindo, “I divide, I split apart” |
| Episkey | Heals minor injuries | Greek episkeu, “repair, restoration” |
| Expecto Patronum | Conjures a Patronus, a guardian against Dementors | Latin, “I await a guardian”; patronus meant “protector” in ancient Rome |
| Expelliarmus | Disarms an opponent | Latin expellere, “to drive out,” plus arma, “weapons” |
| Imperio | The Imperius Curse: puts the victim under the caster’s control | Latin imperare, “to command, to rule” |
| Incendio | Produces fire | Latin incendium, “a fire,” and incendo, “I set on fire” |
| Legilimens | Lets the caster enter another person’s mind | Likely Latin legere, “to read,” plus mens, “mind” |
| Lumos | Lights the tip of the wand | Latin lumen, “light,” with an invented ending |
| Muffliato | Fills nearby ears with a buzzing so a conversation cannot be overheard | English “muffle” with a Latin-sounding ending |
| Nox | Puts out the wand light made by Lumos | Latin nox, “night” |
| Obliviate | Erases memories | Latin obliviscor, “I forget” (the root of English “oblivion”) |
| Petrificus Totalus | The Body-Bind Curse: locks the victim’s body rigid | Greek petros, “rock,” plus Latin “making” and totalis, “entire”: “make rock totally” |
| Protego | Casts a shield that deflects jinxes and hexes | Latin protego, “I protect” |
| Reparo | Repairs broken objects | Latin reparo, “I repair, I renew” |
| Riddikulus | Forces a Boggart into a funny shape | A playful respelling of Latin ridiculus, “laughable” |
| Scourgify | Cleans an object | English: likely a play on “scour” |
| Sectumsempra | Slashes the target as if with a sword | Latin sectum, “having been cut,” plus a twist on semper, “always” |
| Stupefy | Stuns the target unconscious | An English word, from Latin stupefacio, “I make senseless” |
| Wingardium Leviosa | Levitates objects | A blend: English “wing,” likely Latin arduus, “high,” and Latin levis, “light,” or levo, “I lift” |
Several of these breakdowns come straight from the official Wizarding World guide to the etymology of Harry Potter spells, which covers Expecto Patronum, Petrificus Totalus, Expelliarmus, Lumos, Nox and Sectumsempra.
Which Harry Potter Spells Are Not Latin?
Quite a few, and they tend to be the ones fans argue about.
Avada Kedavra: Aramaic, according to Rowling
At the Edinburgh Book Festival in 2004, Rowling said the Killing Curse is an ancient Aramaic spell and the original of “abracadabra,” meaning “let the thing be destroyed.” That is the author’s account, and it is a good story. Linguists are more cautious: “abracadabra” is first recorded in a Roman medical text by Serenus Sammonicus as a charm against fever, and its origin is unknown, with no documents to support any of the competing theories. Explore our translating literary works for details.
Alohomora: the unlocking mystery
The Unlocking Charm sounds vaguely Hawaiian, but the explanation attributed to Rowling is that it comes from a West African “Sidiki” dialect used in geomancy (a form of divination) and means “friendly to thieves.” Notice how carefully reference works word this: Dictionary.com’s roundup of Harry Potter spell words says “supposedly.” Treat it as a fun claim, not a settled fact.
The Greek, English and Italian ones
- Greek: the two healing spells, Episkey (“repair”) and Anapneo (“I draw breath”), plus the petros in Petrificus Totalus.
-
English:
Stupefy is a real dictionary word, while Scourgify and Muffliato dress up “scour” and “muffle” in fancy endings. - Italian: the dancing jinx Tarantallegra likely combines the tarantella, a Southern Italian folk dance, with allegra, “joyful.”
Is the Latin in Harry Potter Spells Correct?
Sometimes perfectly, often loosely. A handful of spells are textbook Latin verbs in the first person: accio, crucio, diffindo, protego and reparo would all make sense to a Roman, who would hear “I summon,” “I torture,” “I split,” “I protect” and “I repair.” When Harry shouts Protego, he is quite literally announcing what he is doing.
Others are Latin in costume. Lumos takes lumen and gives it a new ending. Riddikulus is ridiculus with a comic respelling. Sectumsempra nudges semper into sempra so the word rolls off the tongue, and Wingardium Leviosa glues English onto Latin without apology.
None of this is a mistake. Rowling was coining words that resemble real ones closely enough for readers to feel the meaning, which is exactly how good invented language works. If you enjoy made-up tongues, our look at the Minions language shows the same trick at work on the big screen. Explore our professional book translation services for details.
What Spell Words Teach Us About Real Translation
Spells are a translator’s puzzle in miniature. A word like Riddikulus works in English because it sounds like “ridiculous,” looks Latin and makes you smile, all at once. Carry it into another language and you have to decide which of those three jobs matters most. That is the daily work of translation: weighing meaning, sound and cultural echo, not swapping word for word. It is also why people still call on human experts when Latin shows up in real life, on university diplomas, old church and family records, legal maxims and medical terms. If you have a document that needs that kind of care, our translation services pair it with a human translator who knows both languages and the context around them. For more on the creative side, see our tips for literary translation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What language are Harry Potter spells in?
Most Harry Potter spells are in Latin or a playful, modified version of it. Some are complete Latin verbs, such as Accio (“I summon”) and Reparo (“I repair”). Others borrow from Greek (Episkey, Anapneo), English (Stupefy, Scourgify, Muffliato) or Italian (Tarantallegra), and a few mix languages in one phrase, like Petrificus Totalus and Wingardium Leviosa.
What does Expecto Patronum mean in Latin?
Expecto Patronum means “I await a guardian” or “I expect a guardian.” In ancient Rome, a patronus was a protector, and the word itself grows out of pater, the Latin for “father.” The meaning fits the magic neatly, since the charm calls up a guardian to shield the caster from Dementors.
What does Avada Kedavra actually mean?
J.K. Rowling said in 2004 that Avada Kedavra is an ancient Aramaic spell meaning “let the thing be destroyed” and that it is the source of the word “abracadabra.” Her explanation is the official one for the books. However, reference works list the true origin of “abracadabra” as unknown, so the Aramaic link is best described as Rowling’s inspiration instead of proven word history. Explore our expert document translation for details.
Is Wingardium Leviosa real Latin?
No, not as a phrase. Wingardium Leviosa is a blend that starts with the English word “wing.” The rest likely draws on Latin arduus, meaning “high” or “steep,” and on levis, “light,” or levo, “I lift,” the same root that gives English “levitate.” It sounds like Latin and hints at its meaning, but a Roman would not have recognized it.
Could you cast a spell in proper Latin?
In a sense, some characters already do. Accio, Crucio, Diffindo, Protego and Reparo are correctly formed Latin verbs in the first person, so each one states exactly what the caster is doing. Many other incantations bend the rules with invented endings, respellings or borrowed English, which is part of their charm, even if it would cost marks on a Latin exam.
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