Etymologically
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wizard

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈwɪz.əd/, US /ˈwɪz.ɚd/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English wysard (“wise man, sage”), formed from wys (“wise”) (see wise) and -ard.[2][3][4][5][6] Etymonline compares Lithuanian žynys (“sorcerer”) and žynė (“witch”), from žinoti (“to know”), the underlying sense perhaps being to know the future.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A philosopher or sage, often with a hint of contempt or evil use: probably before 1425, in the Promptorium Parvulorum, in Barnhart; about 1440 in the OED.[2][7][3]

Semantic evolution

The sense of one with magic powers did not appear clearly until about 1550,[2][3][7] since philosophy and magic were hardly told apart in the Middle Ages.[3] Trench notes that the word once carried no dishonour, as when Cheke called the Magi of Matthew “wisards” and Milton wrote of the “star-led wizards”.[8] The spelling with z is from 1579, and wizard itself from 1601, in Ben Jonson's Poetaster.[2] A man who does wonders in his profession is from 1620,[7] and the slang adjective, excellent, from 1922.[3] Wizardry is from 1583.[2]

Timeline

  • probably before 1425 – a sage.[2]
  • c. 1550 – a sorcerer.[2][3]
  • 1579 – wizard (adjective).[7][5]
  • 1583 – wizardry.[2]
  • 1620 – a wonder-worker.[7]
  • 1922 – excellent (slang).[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A man who practises magic; a sorcerer.
  2. A person who is outstandingly skilled in some field; an expert.
  3. (computing) A program that guides a user through a complex task.
  4. (obsolete) A wise man; a sage.

Adjective

  1. (informal, chiefly British) Excellent; superb.
  2. Of or relating to wizards or wizardry.

Word family

  • wizardlike
  • wizardly
  • wizardry

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Trench, Richard Chenevix (1859), A Select Glossary of English Words Used Formerly in Senses Different from Their Present, London: John W. Parker