Wiseacre

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Wiseacre \Wise"a*cre\, n. [OD. wijssegger or G. weissager a
     foreteller, prophet, from weissagen to foretell, to prophesy,
     OHG. w[imac]ssag?n, corrupted (as if compounded of the words
     for wise and say) fr. w[imac]zzag?n, fr. w[imac]zzag? a
     prophet, akin to AS. w[imac]tiga, w[imac]tga, from the root
     of E. wit. See {Wit}, v.]


     [1913 Webster]
     1. A learned or wise man. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Pythagoras learned much . . . becoming a mighty
              wiseacre.                             --Leland.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. One who makes undue pretensions to wisdom; a would-be-wise
        person; hence, in contempt, a simpleton; a dunce.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  wiseacre
       n : an upstart who makes conceited, sardonic, insolent comments
           [syn: {wise guy}, {smart aleck}, {wisenheimer}, {weisenheimer}]