Wizard
noun
1.
a person who practices magic; magician or sorcerer.
2.
a conjurer or juggler.
3.
Also, whiz, wiz,
[wiz] /wɪz/ (Show IPA). a person of amazing skill or accomplishment:
a wizard at chemistry.
4.
Computers. a software feature that guides users through complex procedures with step-by-step instructions, often presented in dialog boxes.
adjective
5.
of or relating to a wizard.
6.
magic.
7.
British Slang. superb; excellent; wonderful:
That’s wizard!
noun
1.
a male witch or a man who practises or professes to practise magic or sorcery
2.
a person who is outstandingly clever in some specified field; expert
3.
(obsolete) a wise man
4.
(computing) a computer program that guides a user through a complex task
adjective
5.
(informal, mainly Brit) superb; outstanding
6.
of or relating to a wizard or wizardry
with the territory
1. A person who knows how a complex piece of software or hardware works (that is, who groks 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)
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).
Read Also:
- Wizard book
publication Hal Abelson, Gerald Sussman and Julie Sussman’s “Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs” (MIT Press, 1984; ISBN 0-262-01077-1), an excellent computer science text used in introductory courses at MIT. So called because of the wizard on the jacket. One of the bibles of the LISP/Scheme world. Also, less commonly, known as the Purple Book. […]
- Wizardly
adjective 1. of, like, or befitting a wizard. Pertaining to wizards. A wizardly feature is one that only a wizard could understand or use properly. [Jargon File]
- Wizard mode
games [rogue] A special access mode of a program or system, usually password protected, that permits some users godlike privileges. Generally not used for operating systems themselves (“root mode” or “wheel mode” would be used instead). This term is often used with respect to games that have editable state.
- Wizen
verb (used with or without object) 1. to wither; shrivel; dry up. adjective 2. wizened. verb 1. to make or become shrivelled adjective 2. a variant of wizened noun 1. an archaic word for weasand
- Wizened
adjective 1. withered; shriveled: a wizened old man; wizened features. verb (used with or without object) 1. to wither; shrivel; dry up. adjective 2. wizened. adjective 1. shrivelled, wrinkled, or dried up, esp with age verb 1. to make or become shrivelled adjective 2. a variant of wizened noun 1. an archaic word for weasand