Added 9 October 2026
wizard
/ˈwɪzəd/ noun
In Latin: venēficus, magus, maga Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about wizard at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
Someone, usually male, who uses (or has skill with) magic, mystic items, and magical and mystical practices.
The wizard conjured up a large fireball.
-
One who is especially skilled or unusually talented in a particular field.
He was a financial wizard, capable of predicting the movements of the stock markets.
-
A computer program or script used to simplify complex operations, often for an inexperienced user.
Use the "Add Network Connection" wizard to connect to a network in a series of simple steps.
adjective
- Fine, superb (originally RAF slang).
verb
Origin
From Middle English wysard, wysarde, equivalent to wise + -ard. A uniquely medieval English word with no known morphologically exact cognates in other Germanic languages; did not gain distinct sense of "occultist, magic user" (as opposed to a philosopher or sage) until circa 1500s, aligning roughly with the starting English Renaissance. However, via Proto-Indo-European *weyd- cognate with Proto-Celtic *druwits (whence English druid), Proto-Slavic *vědьma (Polish wiedźma, Russian ве́дьма (védʹma)), Russian веду́н (vedún).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)