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A practitioner of paranormal magic, especially in folklore, fantasy fiction, and fantasy role-playing games (FRPGs). Not a stage magician or conjurer like David Copperfield, Paul Daniels, or James Randi!
What makes a wizard different from a magician, a sorcerer, a thaumaturge, etc.? Well, in general, not a lot, although fantasy authors and FRPGs might use the names with narrower meanings. For example, Dungeons and Dragons Third Edition (D&D3E), distinguishes between sorcerers and wizards:
- "Sorcerers create magic the way poets create poems, with inborn talent honed by practice."
- "Wizards depend on intensive study to create their magic. ... For a wizard, magic is not a talent but a deliberate rewarding art."
The word is derived from the Middle English wysard, from wis, wys wise.
Famous wizards in folklore and fantasy fiction (sometimes both) include:
- Merlin - from Arthurian legend and their modern retellings.
- Elric of Melniboné - more often called a sorcerer than a wizard - from Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné and its sequels
- Sparrowhawk - from Ursula K. LeGuin's A Wizard of Earthsea and its sequels.
- Rincewind - strictly a "Wizzard" (it says so on his hat) - from many of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels.