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--どんな望{のぞ}みも叶{かな}える、 とまではいかないまでも 、魔術師{まじゅつし}としては十分{じゅうぶん}すぎる程価値{ほどかち}のある物だ。

It can fulfill every wish, ...., As a magician it has an incredible value.

What does that mean?
Has it any function in this sentence?

I think it is:
と言うまでは=Say something to that degree
行かないまでも=It may not work

と言うまでは行かないまでも=Even if you can't say it with certainty

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7

「Phrase A + とまではいかないまでも + Phrase B」

means

"(It is) Phrase B if not (totally) Phrase A."

This expression means that it would be an overstatement if the speaker used Phrase A to describe something, so he would just describe it using Phrase B.

"It is more than a valuable item for a magician if not something that will fulfill every wish."

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  • "If not" is ambiguous here. It can mean "although perhaps not" or "perhaps even". You probably mean the former, but it might be interpreted as the latter in your translation. However, "even if not" will unambiguously mean the former.
    – jukbot
    Dec 5, 2019 at 15:10
  • @jukbot I agree "if not" can mean either side of the line, but I am not sure "even if not" really disambiguates it, because "even if not" can be taken to mean "even in situations where (something) is not" while acknowledging/conceding that there are circumstances in which something is.
    – Eddie Kal
    Dec 29, 2021 at 8:16

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