wheel bit

wheel bit n.  A privilege bit that allows the possessor to
   perform some restricted operation on a timesharing system, such as
   read or write any file on the system regardless of protections,
   change or look at any address in the running monitor, crash or
   reload the system, and kill or create jobs and user accounts.  The
   term was invented on the TENEX operating system, and carried over
   to TOPS-20, XEROX-IFS, and others.  The state of being in a
   privileged logon is sometimes called `wheel mode'.  This term
   entered the UNIX culture from TWENEX in the mid-1980s and has been
   gaining popularity there (esp. at university sites).  See also
   {root}.