bigwig

See also: big-wig and big wig

English

Alternative forms

• big wig, big-wig

Etymology

First arose in the 1730s, from big +‎ wig. Formerly, English men of authority wore wigs. Bigwig plays on the idea that higher authority is denoted by a larger wig.

Noun

bigwig (plural bigwigs)

1. (humorous) A person of importance to a group or organization.

   The company bigwig is gathering his staff together for a meeting today.

   • 2016 May 5, “Reality star Bethenny Frankel talks hats, hangovers and her Kentucky Derby party at Empire City Casino”, in New York Daily News:

     Before her hay-day, she attended many derbys under her dad's celebrity where she'd hobnob with the bigwigs in Millionaire's Row.

Synonyms

• big cheese, big enchilada, big kahuna, big wheel, grand poobah, head honcho, kingpin, muckety muck, top banana, top dog, VIP

Translations

A person of importance

• Dutch: hoge ome, bobo (nl)
• Estonian: suur nina, tähtis tegelane
• Finnish: pamppu (fi), napamies, silmäätekevä (fi), kiho (fi)
• French: grosse légume (fr) f, huile (fr) f, gros bonnet (fr) m
• German: hohes Tier (de) n, Persönlichkeit (de) f, Bonze (de) m
• Indonesian: kakap (id)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: boc mór m
• Italian: capo (it) m, barbassoro (it) m, pataffione m, pallone gonfiato m
• Russian: большая ши́шка (bolʹšaja šíška) (big fir-cone), важная пти́ца (ru) (važnaja ptíca) (important bird)
• Spanish: pez gordo m
• Welsh: pwysigyn m