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wiseacre

 - 6 dictionary results

wise⋅a⋅cre

  [wahyz-ey-ker]
Use wiseacre in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person who possesses or affects to possess great wisdom.
2. wise guy.
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

wise guy

 
–noun
Informal. a cocksure, conceited, and often insolent person; smart aleck: He has a reputation for being a wise guy.
Also called wiseacre.

Origin:
1895–1900, Americanism

Related forms:
wise-guy, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source 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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Slang Dictionary
wise guy

  1. n.
    a foolish person; a smart aleck. (See also smart guy. Also a term of address.) : Look, wise guy, mind your own business!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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wiseacre

  1. n.
    a jerk; a wiseguy. : We've got ways of dealing with a wiseacre like you!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

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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