EW"Muggles" is a word that is as precious to Harry Potter fans as "always." (You just teared up a bit, didn't you? Oh, Snape! You precious man, you were too pure for this world!) Basically, Potterheads take their terminology very seriously.
Anyway, if you don't know what the word "muggle" means, then you probably are indeed a muggle, which means (in the Harry Potter universe) that you don't practice magic. That was the word author J.K. Rowling invented to label regular, non-wizard/witches. It's supposed to be derogatory, so if someone has been calling you a muggle at the office, report them to HR immediately.
This week, J.K. Rowling turned the Harry Potter world upside down when she revealed that there's actually an American word for "muggle" that she created for the 2016 prequel film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Are you ready for it?
Americans who don't practice magic are called "No-Maj," pronounce "no madge," as in "no magic." We'll give you a second to let that sink in.
So Harry Potter fans are not only grappling with the fact that there's a completely different name for "muggles" here in the States, but it's a word that just doesn't have the same pizazz as "muggle." Wouldn't you agree?
For Dumbledore's sake, "muggle" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2003 and now Rowling is telling us that people on this side of the pond have to use "No-Maj?!"
Needless to say, Potterheads are having a tough time accepting this:
While we don't ever want to disagree or question the great and powerful J.K. Rowling, we still might have to grumble and complain while we get used to the new word. Of course, when the movie comes out and we see how wonderfully magical it is, we won't care what muggles are called. In J.K. we trust.