IT's the magical game that started as a fiction but is now played by real people across the world.

Now Quidditch has earned the seal of approval from the Oxford English Dictionary.

Inspired by JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, its entry reads: "A team sport played while straddling broomsticks, in which goals are scored by throwing a ball through any of three hoops fixed at either end of the pitch."

Quidditch was first mentioned in Rowling's 1997 novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone but it has since taken on a life of its own after becoming popular as a real sport among university students.

The game pits two teams of seven players each, some offensive and others defensive, against each other as they try to score as many points as possible by throwing a 'quaffle' into the three hoops at each end of the pitch.

Bonus points can also be made by capturing the 'snitch', a small tag attached to the shorts of a neutral player. 

There are Quidditch teams based in Oxford and the sport has even led to tournaments, such as the European Quidditch Cup, as well as the creation of the International Quidditch Association.