Wizard

7 definitions found

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

  Wizard \Wiz"ard\, n. [Probably from wise + -ard.]
     1. A wise man; a sage. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              See how from far upon the eastern road
              The star-led wizards [Magi] haste with odors sweet!


                                                    --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. One devoted to the black art; a magician; a conjurer; a
        sorcerer; an enchanter.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The wily wizard must be caught.       --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]

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

  Wizard \Wiz"ard\, a.
     1. Enchanting; charming. --Collins.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Haunted by wizards.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Where Deva spreads her wizard stream. --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  wizard
       adj : possessing or using or characteristic of or appropriate to
             supernatural powers; "charming incantations"; "magic
             signs that protect against adverse influence"; "a
             magical spell"; "'tis now the very witching time of
             night"- Shakespeare; "wizard wands"; "wizardly powers"
             [syn: {charming}, {magic}, {magical}, {sorcerous}, {witching(a)},
              {wizard(a)}, {wizardly}]
       n 1: someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field [syn: {ace},
            {adept}, {champion}, {sensation}, {maven}, {mavin}, {virtuoso},
             {genius}, {hotshot}, {star}, {superstar}, {whiz}, {whizz},
             {wiz}]
       2: one who practices magic or sorcery [syn: {sorcerer}, {magician},
           {necromancer}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  87 Moby Thesaurus words for "wizard":
     Comus, Faust, OK, ace, ace-high, artist, authority, bad, bang-up,
     bonzer, boss, bully, but good, conjurer, cool, corking,
     crackerjack, dandy, delicious, diabolist, diviner, dowser, ducky,
     enchanter, fab, fine and dandy, first-rater, gear, genius,
     good hand, great, groovy, heavy, hot, hunky-dory, jam-up,
     just dandy, keen, mage, magician, magus, mahatma, man of genius,
     marvy, master, master hand, mastermind, mean, miracle-worker, neat,
     necromancer, nifty, nobby, okay, out of sight, past master, peachy,
     peachy-keen, practiced hand, prodigy, professional, proficient,
     ripping, rum, sage, scrumptious, skilled hand, slap-up, smashing,
     solid, something else, sorcerer, spiffing, spiffy, star, stunning,
     superstar, swell, thaumaturge, thaumaturgist, theurgist,
     topnotcher, tough, virtuoso, warlock, water witch, whiz
  
  

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  wizard n. 1. Transitively, a person who knows how a complex piece of
     software or hardware works (that is, who {grok}s it); esp. someone who
     can find and fix bugs quickly in an emergency. Someone is a {hacker} if
     he or she has general hacking ability, but is a wizard with respect to
     something only if he or she has specific detailed knowledge of that
     thing. A good hacker could become a wizard for something given the time
     to study it. 2. The term `wizard' is also used intransitively of someone
     who has extremely high-level hacking or problem-solving ability. 3. A
     person who is permitted to do things forbidden to ordinary people; one
     who has {wheel} privileges on a system. 4. A Unix expert, esp. a Unix
     systems programmer. This usage is well enough established that `Unix
     Wizard' is a recognized job title at some corporations and to most
     headhunters. See {guru}, {lord high fixer}. See also {deep magic},
     {heavy wizardry}, {incantation}, {magic}, {mutter}, {rain dance},
     {voodoo programming}, {wave a dead chicken}.
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  wizard
       
          1. A person who knows how a complex piece of software or
          hardware works (that is, who {grok}s it); especially someone
          who can find and fix bugs quickly in an emergency.  Someone is
          a {hacker} if he or she has general hacking ability, but is a
          wizard with respect to something only if he or she has
          specific detailed knowledge of that thing.  A good hacker
          could become a wizard for something given the time to study
          it.
       
          2. A person who is permitted to do things forbidden to
          ordinary people; one who has {wheel} privileges on a system.
       
          3. A Unix expert, especially a Unix systems programmer.  This
          usage is well enough established that "Unix Wizard" is a
          recognised job title at some corporations and to most
          headhunters.
       
          See {guru}, {lord high fixer}.  See also {deep magic}, {heavy
          wizardry}, {incantation}, {magic}, {mutter}, {rain dance},
          {voodoo programming}, {wave a dead chicken}.
       
          4. An interactive help utility that guides the user through a
          potentially complex task, such as configuring a {PPP} driver
          to work with a new {modem}.  Wizards are often implemented as
          a sequence of {dialog boxes} which the user can move forward
          and backward through, filling in the details required.  The
          implication is that the expertise of a human wizard in one of
          the above senses is encapsulated in the software wizard,
          allowing the average user to perform expertly.
       
          [{Jargon File}]
       
          (1998-09-07)
       
       

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Wizard
     a pretender to supernatural knowledge and power, "a knowing
     one," as the original Hebrew word signifies. Such an one was
     forbidden on pain of death to practise his deceptions (Lev.
     19:31; 20:6, 27; 1 Sam. 28:3; Isa. 8:19; 19:3).