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Origin and history of wack

wack(n.)

"crazy person," by 1938, probably a back-formation from wacky. As an adjective in slang sense of "worthless, stupid," it is attested from late 1990s.

also from 1938

Entries linking to wack

wacky(adj.)

"crazy, eccentric," by 1935, perhaps a variant of whacky (n.) "fool," late 19c. British slang; probably ultimately from whack (n.) "a blow, stroke," on the notion of being hit on the head too often.

wackjob(n.)

also whackjob, wack job, 1979, "crazy person." From wack (n.) + job (n.) in the broad sense "example of." Perhaps on model of earlier nut job (1972) with same meaning.

wacko(n.)

extended form of wack, by 1971. Also see -o.

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    whack
    Wack or whack "crazy person," 1938, is probably a back-formation from wacky, which probably comes from the blow-on-the-head...Wack, whack in the slang sense of "unappealing; crazy," hence "worthless, stupid" is by 1986, apparently popularized by an...anti-drug slogan crack is wack....
    mullet
    " #1 on the side and don't touch the back #6 on the top and don't cut it wack, Jack [Beastie Boys, "Mullet Head"] As...
    epitome
    1520s, "an abstract; brief statement of the chief points of some writing," from French épitomé (16c.), from Latin epitome "an abridgment," from Greek epitome "an abridgment, a cutting on the surface; brief summary," from epitemnein "cut short, abridge," from epi "into" (see epi-)
    carpenter
    "artificer in timber, one who does the heavier sort of wood-working," c. 1300 (attested from early 12c. as a surname), from Anglo-French carpenter, Old North French carpentier (Old French and Modern French charpentier), from Late Latin (artifex) carpentarius "wagon (maker); carri
    distress
    late 13c., "circumstance that causes anxiety or hardship," from Old French destresse (Modern French détresse), from Vulgar Latin *districtia "restraint, affliction, narrowness, distress," from Latin districtus, past participle of distringere "draw apart, hinder," also, in Medieva
    clothes-horse
    also clothes horse, "upright wooden frame for hanging clothes to dry," 1788, from clothes + horse (n.) in its secondary sense "that upon which something is mounted." Figurative sense of "person whose sole function seems to be to show off clothes" is 1850. Clothes-screen, which ha
    bolster
    Old English bolster "bolster, cushion, something stuffed so that it swells up," especially "a long, stuffed pillow," from Proto-Germanic *bolkhstraz (source also of Old Norse bolstr, Danish, Swedish, Dutch bolster, German polster), from PIE *bhelgh- "to swell," extended form of r
    pilot
    1510s, "one who steers a ship," especially one who has charge of the helm when the ship is passing in or out of harbor, from French pillote (16c.), from Italian piloto, supposed to be an alteration of Old Italian pedoto, which usually is said to be from Medieval Greek *pedotes "r
    vacuum
    1540s, "emptiness of space," from Latin vacuum "an empty space, vacant place, a void," noun use of neuter of vacuus "empty, unoccupied, devoid of," figuratively "free, unoccupied," from Proto-Italic *wakowos, related to the source of Latin  vacare "to be empty" (from PIE *wa
    character
    mid-14c., carecter, "symbol marked or branded on the body;" mid-15c., "symbol or drawing used in sorcery;" late 15c., "alphabetic letter, graphic symbol standing for a sound or syllable;" from Old French caratere "feature, character" (13c., Modern French caractère), from Latin ch

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