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wiseacre - 5 dictionary results
wise⋅a⋅cre
[wahyz-ey-ker] 
Origin:
1585–95; < MD wijssager prophet, trans. of MHG wīssage, late OHG wīssago, by popular etym. equiv. to wīs wise + sago sayer, from earlier wīzzago wise person; c. OE wītega, akin to wit 2
1585–95; < MD wijssager prophet, trans. of MHG wīssage, late OHG wīssago, by popular etym. equiv. to wīs wise + sago sayer, from earlier wīzzago wise person; c. OE wītega, akin to wit 2
wise guy
–noun
| Informal. a cocksure, conceited, and often insolent person; smart aleck: He has a reputation for being a wise guy. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To wiseacre
| wise·a·cre (wīz'ā'kər) n. Slang A person regarded as being disagreeably egotistical and self-assured. [Alteration by folk etymology from Middle Dutch wijsseggher, soothsayer, translation of Middle High German wīssage, from Old High German wīssago, seer, alteration (influenced by forasago, sayer beforehand, prophet) of wīzago, from wīzag, knowledgeable; see weid- in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Wiseacre
Wise"a*cre\, n. [OD. wijssegger or G. weissager a foreteller, prophet, from weissagen to foretell, to prophesy, OHG. w[=i]ssag?n, corrupted (as if compounded of the words for wise and say) fr. w[=i]zzag?n, fr. w[=i]zzag? a prophet, akin to AS. w[=i]tiga, w[=i]tga, from the root of E. wit. See Wit, v.]1. A learned or wise man. [Obs.] Pythagoras learned much . . . becoming a mighty wiseacre. --Leland. 2. One who makes undue pretensions to wisdom; a would-be-wise person; hence, in contempt, a simpleton; a dunce.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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wiseacre
1595, partial translation of M.Du. wijssegger "soothsayer" (with no derogatory connotation), probably altered by association with M.Du. segger "sayer" from O.H.G. wizzago "prophet," from wizzan "to know," from P.Gmc. *wit "know." The depreciatory sense of "one who pretends to know everything" may have come through confusion with obsolete Eng. segger "sayer," which also had a sense of "braggart" (c.1440).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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