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Origin and history of whiz

whiz(n.)

"clever person," 1914, probably a special use of whiz "something remarkable" (1908), an extended sense of whizz; or perhaps a shortened and altered form of wizard. The noun phrase whiz kid is from 1930s, a take-off on a radio show's quiz kid.

also from 1914

Entries linking to whiz

whizz(v.)

also whiz, "make or move with a humming, hissing sound," as an arrow through the air, 1540s, of imitative origin. Meaning "to urinate" is from 1929. Related: Whizzed; whizzing. The noun is recorded from 1610s. Whizzer "something extraordinary" is from 1888.

wizard(n.)

early 15c., wisard, "philosopher, sage, person possessing great wisdom," often with a suggestion of use for evil ends; from Middle English wys "wise" (see wise (adj.)) + -ard.

Compare Lithuanian žynystė "magic," žynys "sorcerer," žynė "witch," all from žinoti "to know." The ground sense is perhaps "to know the future."

The meaning "one with magical power, one proficient in the occult sciences" did not emerge distinctly until c. 1550, the difference between philosophy and magic being blurred in the Middle Ages. As a vogue slang word meaning "excellent" it is recorded from 1922.

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    Trends of whiz

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    ace
    c. 1300, "one at dice," from Old French as "one at dice" (12c.), from Latin as "a unit, one, a whole, unity;" also the name of a small Roman coin (originally a rectangular bronze plaque weighing one pound, it eventually was reduced by depreciation to half an ounce; in imperial ti
    adept
    1690s, "completely skilled, well-versed," from Latin adeptus "having reached or attained," past participle of adipisci "to come up with, arrive at," figuratively "to attain to, acquire," from ad "to" (see ad-) + apisci "to grasp, attain" (related to aptus "fitted," from PIE root
    champion
    early 13c., "doughty fighting man, valorous combatant," also (c. 1300) "one who fights on behalf of another or others, one who undertakes to defend a cause," from Old French champion "combatant, champion in single combat" (12c.), from Late Latin campionem (nominative campio) "gla
    star
    "celestial body appearing as a luminous point," Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra "star," from Proto-Germanic *sternan- (source also of Old Saxon sterro, Old Frisian stera, Dutch ster, Old High German sterro, German Stern, Old Norse stjarna, Swedish stjerna, Danish
    expert
    late 14c., "having had experience; skillful," from Old French expert, espert "experienced, practiced, skilled" and directly from Latin expertus (contracted from *experitus), "tried, proved, known by experience," past participle of experiri "to try, test," from ex "out of" (see ex
    sensation
    1610s, "a reaction to external stimulation of the sense organs," from French sensation (14c.) and directly from Medieval Latin sensationem (nominative sensatio) "perception," from Late Latin sensatus "endowed with sense, sensible," from Latin sensus "feeling" (see sense (n.)). Th
    go
    Old English gan "to advance, walk; depart, go away; happen, take place; conquer; observe, practice, exercise," from West Germanic *gaian (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian gan, Middle Dutch gaen, Dutch gaan, Old High German gan, German gehen), from PIE root *ghē- "to release,
    sound
    "noise, what is heard, sensation produced through the ear," late 13c., soun, from Old French son "sound, musical note, voice," from Latin sonus "sound, a noise," from PIE *swon-o-, from root *swen- "to sound." The unetymological -d was established c. 1350-1550 (see D). Sound-boar
    genius
    late 14c., "tutelary or moral spirit" who guides and governs an individual through life, from Latin genius "guardian deity or spirit which watches over each person from birth; spirit, incarnation; wit, talent;" also "prophetic skill; the male spirit of a gens," originally "genera
    kid
    c. 1200, "the young of a goat," from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse kið "young goat," from Proto-Germanic *kidjom (source also of Old High German kizzi, German kitze, Danish and Swedish kid), a word of uncertain origin. The extended meaning "child" is recorded as slang b

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