wizardry C2+ Topic:Art & Music US /ˈwɪz.ɚd.ri/ UK /ˈwɪz.əd.ri/ See IPA manual Minimal pairs Sounds like wizardly /l/ vs /ɹ/ Meanings 1 noun the art or practice of magic, or great skill in some activity His financial wizardry turned a small fund into a fortune. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the art or practice of... magicsorcerywizardlyenchantmentskillvirtuositymastery Word family Related forms wizardwizardlywise Etymology AI details From wizard + -ry; wizard is from Middle English wysard, from wys ('wise') + -ard, originally meaning a wise man, later a magician. wys Middle English -ard Old French View etymology graph -> Topics Art & Music Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # wizardry **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈwɪz.ɚd.ri/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈwɪz.əd.ri/ ## Meanings 1. the art or practice of magic, or great skill in some activity ## Examples - His financial wizardry turned a small fund into a fortune. ## Synonyms - magic - sorcery - wizardly - enchantment - skill - virtuosity - mastery ## Related Forms - wizard - wizardly - wise ## Roots and Affixes - Root: wys - Root: -ard ## Etymology From wizard + -ry; wizard is from Middle English wysard, from wys ('wise') + -ard, originally meaning a wise man, later a magician. ## AI Etymology Wizardry comes from wizard + -ry; wizard is from Middle English wysard, from wys ('wise') + -ard, originally meaning a wise man, later a magician. In current use it is a noun meaning "the art or practice of magic, or great skill in some activity". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Middle English wys and Old French -ard. Related English forms include wizard, wizardly, and wise. The semantic development is therefore important as well as the form: the word moves from the older concrete, technical, or literal setting into the present figurative or specialized sense. ## Topics - Art & Music - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown