shazam

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English

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Etymology

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Apparently coined by American comic book writer Bill Parker in February 1940,[1][2] from the first letters of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury.

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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shazam

  1. Used to indicate that a magic trick or other illusion has been performed.
    • 2008, Tom Bissinger, Da Capo:Selected Writings 1967-2004: Selected Writings 1967-2004, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 91:
      My parents lived in the Last Naïf Age: the last ‘good war’, atoms for peace, and parental philosophy that said children should do and say exactly what we do and say, and Shazam! You'll be us.
    • 2009, K. L. Denman, Me, Myself and Ike, Orca Book Publishers, →ISBN, page 185:
      So I brought you down the trail on the sled, put you in my car and, shazam, here we are.

Verb

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shazam (third-person singular simple present shazams, present participle shazamming, simple past and past participle shazammed)

  1. (neologism, uncommon, transitive) To identify the artist or the name of a song using the Shazam application.

Translations

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References

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  1. ^ Karl M. Kapp (2013) The Gamification of Learning and Instruction Fieldbook: Ideas into Practice, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 191:If you recall, Shazam is a comic book character created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. He is an ancient wizard who gives a young boy named Billy Batson the power to transform into the superhero Captain Marvel.
  2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “shazam”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

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