bigwig
/ˈbɪɡ.wɪɡ/ noun
Forms bigwigs big wig big-wig
- noun (informal) A person of importance in a group or organization. “The company bigwig is gathering his staff together for a meeting today.”
Synonyms
big cheese VIP baron big enchilada big gun big kahuna big man big name big noise big shot big wheel boss grand poobah head honcho heavy hitter heavyweight high muckamuck high muckety-muck king of all one surveys king of the castle kingpin top banana
Etymology
First arose in the 1730s, from big + wig. Formerly, English men of authority (such as judges and Members of Parliament) wore wigs. Bigwig plays on the idea that higher authority is denoted by a larger wig.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A person of consequence; as, the bigwigs of society. [Jocose]
Etymology [Big,a.+ wig.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “bigwig”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details