It’s hard to believe, but there are some people in this world who haven’t watched the Harry Potter film franchise 600 times or read the books, so many times the story is basically emblazoned in their brains – although not quite in the way that Dolores Umbridge would like. J.K Rowling created a magical world for wizards, witches, and non-magical folk alike to enjoy, and there’s no doubt about the fact that it has been incredibly popular. Although there are still people out there who haven’t fallen in love with the wands and the magical creatures, we can’t help but notice that some of the magical language we know and love has since made its way out into the Muggle world…
Muggle
Of course, how could we talk about Muggles without talking about the word Muggle itself? J.K Rowling coined this phrase herself, and it’s become such a huge part of our society that it now has its very own place in the Oxford Dictionaries! When speaking of non-magical folk, those in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter would call these people Muggles, and this has since come into the world we know and love today. After all, those who haven’t read the books or watched the movies have been given this name, because they haven’t quite experienced the magic. Not yet, anyway.
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named
Although we know that fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself, we want to stay safe when it comes to this one. Because Harry Potter has become such a large part of popular culture, this nickname for the darkest wizard of all time has since snaked its way out of the book and movie franchise and into everyday society. Even those who have never experienced the magic use this phrase when they want to talk of someone they don’t want to bring attention to, or someone who is considered to be extremely scary.
Expelliarmus!
Every lead character needs a catchphrase, and there’s no doubt about the fact that Harry Potter used this one on more occasions than we can count. In fact, this spell got Harry out of some rather tricky spots and saved his life countless times. Although Expelliarmus is extremely niche in terms of its spelling and its pronunciation, it’s fair to say that even Muggles have cottoned on to this phrase. If you’ve ever spoken to someone about your Harry Potter obsession, this is normally one of the only things that they know about the magical franchise.
Slytherin
Actually, we think all of the Hogwarts houses have made their way into the non-magical world. One of the main aspects of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is that the students are split up into houses based on their characteristics. While Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw are normally seen as the best houses of the lot, Slytherin has always been associated with a bad reputation. Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that the darkest wizard of all time came from this house. Nevertheless, Muggles who haven’t even seen the series may have called someone they dislike a Slytherin before because everyone knows the characteristics of a Slytherin.
If you’re the kind of person that’s obsessed with Harry Potter, it can be hard to understand that there are some people who haven’t read or watched the franchise. However, it’s not too bad when they use magical language without them even realizing…
