sciential

adjective sci·en·tial \ sī-ˈen(t)-shəl \

Editor's Note: Literature and sciential

Definition of sciential

1 : relating to or producing knowledge or science

2 : having efficient knowledge : capable

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Literature and sciential

You might expect sciential, which derives from Latin scientia (meaning "knowledge"), to be used mostly in technical papers and descriptions of scientific experiments. In truth, however, sciential has long been a favorite of playwrights and poets. It appears in the works of Ben Jonson, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and John Keats, among others. Keats made particularly lyrical use of it in his narrative poem "Lamia," which depicts a doomed love affair between the Greek sorceress Lamia and a human named Lycius. In the poem, Hermes transforms Lamia from a serpent into a beautiful woman, "Not one hour old, yet of sciential brain."