Wizard

How to spell wizard

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce wizard

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does wizard mean?

1. nounA man who practises magic or sorcery, especially in stories and folklore.
2. nounA person who is remarkably skilled or clever at a particular activity.

Wizard in a sentence

• The old wizard in the novel could turn lead into gold.

• Our accountant is a real wizard with the tax software.

• Children dressed as a wizard and a witch for the costume party.

• He is a financial wizard who spotted the error in seconds.

Where does wizard come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word grew up inside English itself, formed in the late Middle Ages from the adjective 'wis', the older form of 'wise', joined to the suffix '-ard', which marks a person strongly characterised by some quality (the same ending sits in 'drunkard' and 'coward'). When it first appears in the 1400s a 'wysard' simply meant a wise man, a philosopher or sage, with no hint of magic about it. Over the following century the sense darkened toward someone who claimed supernatural knowledge, a sorcerer or worker of spells, and that magical meaning is the one that has stuck. The spelling trap lives in the ending: the word sounds like it should finish in '-erd' or '-urd', yet because the suffix is '-ard' it is written that way, even though the final vowel has faded to a weak schwa. In modern casual use it has also doubled back to something close to its original flattering meaning, since calling a person a 'wizard' at some skill simply praises their expertise.

How the word is built

• wis- (from 'wise')
• -ard (noun suffix: one marked by a quality)