Nearby Words

pizazz

[puh-zaz] Origin

pi·zazz

[puh-zaz]
noun Informal.
1.
energy; vitality; vigor.
2.
attractive style; dash; flair.
Also, piz·zazz.


Origin:
1935–40, Americanism; origin obscure

pi·zazz·y, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Pizazz is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Collins
World English Dictionary
pizzazz or pizazz (pəˈzæz)
 
n
informal pazzazz, pazazz, Also called: pzazz an attractive combination of energy and style; sparkle, vitality, glamour
 
[C20: origin obscure]
 
pizazz or pizazz
 
n
 
[C20: origin obscure]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pizazz
1937, probably originally college or show-biz slang.
EXPAND
"Pizazz, to quote the editor of the Harvard Lampoon, is an indefinable dynamic quality, the je ne sais quoi of function; as for instance, adding Scotch puts pizazz into a drink. Certain clothes have it, too." ["Harper's Bazaar," March 1937]
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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