name · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˌmæɡnə ˈkɑːtə/
General-American:/ˌmæɡnə ˈkɑːɹtə/
General-American:[-ɾə]
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)tə
1
name
Meaning 1
A charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215, which is one of the bases of English constitutional tradition; a physical copy of this charter, or a later version.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, historical, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
name
Meaning 2
A modified version of the charter of King John as granted by Henry III in 1236, confirmed as a statute by the Parliament of King Edward I in 1297, part of which remains in force in England and Wales.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: law
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A landmark document that sets out rights or important principles.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
the royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Magna Charta, The Great Charter
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: royal charter
History
Etymology
From Late Middle English Magna Carta, borrowed from Medieval Latin Magna Carta, from Latin magna (“great”) + carta (“charter”).
Across languages
Translations
61 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Arabic:
مَاجْنَا كَارْتَا
(mājnā kārtā)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Aragonese:
Carta Magna
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Asturian:
Carta Magna
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Basque:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Bengali:
ম্যাগনা কার্টা
(mêgona karṭa)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Bulgarian:
Велика харта на свободите
(Velika harta na svobodite)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Burmese:
မဂ္ဂနာကာတာ
(magga.nakata)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Catalan:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Chinese:
大憲章 /大宪章
(Tāi Hiàn-chiong)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Chinese Mandarin:
大憲章 /大宪章
(Dà Xiànzhāng)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Czech:
Magna charta libertatum
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Danish:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Dutch:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Esperanto:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Estonian:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Finnish:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
French:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Galician:
Carta Magna
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Georgian:
მაგნა კარტა
(magna ḳarṭa)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
German:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Greek:
Μάγκνα Κάρτα
(Mágkna Kárta)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Hebrew:
מגנה כרטה
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Hindi:
मैग्ना कार्टा
(maignā kārṭā)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Hungarian:
Magna Charta Libertatum
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Icelandic:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Indonesian:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Italian:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Japanese:
マグナ・カルタ
(maguna karuta)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Javanese:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Korean:
마그나 카르타
(mageuna kareuta)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Korean:
대헌장
(daeheonjang)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Latin:
Magna charta libertatum
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Latvian:
Lielā brīvības harta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Lithuanian:
Magna Carta Libertatum
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Macedonian:
Магна карта
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Malay:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Malayalam:
മാഗ്നാകാർട്ട
(māgnākāṟṭṭa)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Marathi:
मॅग्ना कार्टा
(mĕgnā kārṭā)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Newar:
म्याग्ना कार्टा
(myāgnā kārṭā)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Norwegian:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Persian:
مگنا کارتا
(magnâ kârtâ)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Persian:
فرمان کبیر
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Polish:
Magna Charta Libertatum
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Portuguese:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Romanian:
Magna Charta Libertatum
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Russian:
Вели́кая ха́ртия во́льностей
(Velíkaja xártija vólʹnostej)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Serbo-Croatian:
Магна карта
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Serbo-Croatian:
Magna Karta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Slovak:
Magna charta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Slovene:
Velika listina svoboščin
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Spanish:
Carta Magna
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Swedish:
Magna Charta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Tagalog:
Batayang Kasulatan
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Tamil:
மாக்னா கார்ட்டா
(mākṉā kārṭṭā)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Telugu:
మాగ్నా కార్టా
(māgnā kārṭā)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Thai:
มหากฎบัตร
(máhăa gòdbàt)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Turkish:
Magna Carta Libertatum
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Ukrainian:
Велика хартія вольностей
(Velyka xartija volʹnostej)
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Urdu:
میگنا کارٹا
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
Welsh:
Magna Carta
— charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215
