Variant: also Mag · na Char · ta
Pronunciation: ' mag-n ə - ' kär-t ə
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin, literally, great charter
Date: 15th century
1 : a charter of liberties to which the English barons forced King John to give his assent in June 1215 at Runnymede
2 : a document constituting a fundamental guarantee of rights and privileges