Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica - Vol. 1 Ch. 1 - I Kind of Saw Her in My Dream...

[MangaDex]

 

[Neushaartje]

I do not understand this Latin though; though it's part of the official name. “puella magi” in Latin would mean "girl of a magician”; “magical girl” would be “puella maga”, whose plural would be “puellae magae“; “puella magi” is singular, regardless.

Googling “puella magi” results only in things related to Madoka, so I'm to assume they simply got the Latin wrong.

 

[NameGoesHere]

@trapsarebetter

I do not understand this Latin though; though it's part of the official name. “puella magi” in Latin would mean "girl of a magician”; “magical girl” would be “puella maga”, whose plural would be “puellae magae“; “puella magi” is singular, regardless.

Googling “puella magi” results only in things related to Madoka, so I'm to assume they simply got the Latin wrong.

The latin is a little funky because it was meant to have 2 meanings. "puella magi" can be translated to "magician girl," but you can also translate it to "slave of deception" or "female slave of the deceiver." At least that's what I've heard through multiple people and the wiki, but it could be completely incorrect.

 

[Neushaartje]

@NameGoesHere

Well, “magus” just means “magician” but can also mean “trickster” I guess but that's metaphorical. “puella” just means “girl”; it can be used to refer to a young female slave in the way the word “girl” in general can.

Regardless it just never means “magical girl”; I suppose one can stretch the meaning to “young female slave of a trickster” but it just means “girl of a magician” — “magi” here is a genitive, not an adjective; it can't mean “magical girl” as far as I know.