Word of the Day

: January 12, 2008

sapient

adjective SAY-pee-unt

What It Means

: possessing or expressing great sagacity

sapient in Context

I've found Henrietta's advice to be both sapient and comforting, especially in difficult times.

Did You Know?

Human beings certainly like to think they're wise, and, in fact, the term "Homo sapiens" ("humankind") comes in part from the Latin word "sapiens," meaning "wise" or "intelligent." "Sapiens" in turn comes from the verb "sapere," which means "to be wise" (and which also gave us "sage" and "savant"). "Sapiens" and "sapere" are also ancestors of our adjective "sapient," of course. "Sapient" came to us from Latin by way of Middle French and has been used in English to mean "wise" since the 15th century. In recent times it also has been used in anthropological contexts to mean "characteristic of modern humans."