Where does “wizard” come from?

Wizard comes from Middle English wysarde, of uncertain origin and meaning.

wizard (English): Someone, usually male, who uses magic, mystic...

Definitions

  1. Someone, usually male, who uses magic, mystic...

Ancestry of “wizard”, step by step

wizard traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English wise

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwiseShowing good judgement or the benefit of...
2Middle Englishwyswise, thoughtful, proper; knowledgeable; alert,...
3Old Englishwīswise
4Proto-Germanicwīsazwise, knowledgeable
5Proto-Indo-Europeanweydstosknowledgeable
6Proto-Indo-Europeanweyd-to see

via Middle English wysard

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwysard

Words derived from “wizard

Every word from Proto-Indo-European weyd-