In fantasy, a wizard is a type of spellcaster who uses magic. The term comes from Old English, meaning "a cunning person," from the same kind of formation as a braggard (someone who brags too much), coward (someone who is too easily cowed), or blackguard (someone who is excessively evil). The fantasy archetype of the wizard is based mainly on fictional and mythological sorcerers or seers such as Gandalf and Merlin.
Mialee, the iconic elf wizard for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition.
Wizards in Dungeons & Dragons[]
The original Dungeons & Dragons game featured magic-users. In Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition, the term mage was preferred for a general type of magic-user. In Dungeons & Dragons, the game divided primary arcane spellcasters into wizards, who were much like mages or magic-users, and sorcerers, a variant that used magic without preparation. The D&D depiction of magicians was heavily influenced by the fiction of Jack Vance, and hence, the style of wizard magic is sometimes called Vancian spellcasting.
Wizards in Dungeons & Dragons use powerful, strange spells. Generally they are depicted as a type of eclectic sage or proto-scientist.