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Origin and history of sapient

sapient(adj.)

"wise, sage, discerning," late 15c. (early 15c. as a surname), from Old French sapient and directly from Latin sapientem (nominative sapiens) "sensible; shrewd, knowing, discrete;" also "well-acquainted with the true value of things" (like Greek sophos), a specialized use of the present participle of sapere, of things, "to taste, have taste;" of persons, "to have discernment, be wise."

This is reconstructed to be from PIE root *sep- (1) "to taste, perceive;" source also of Old Saxon ansebban "to perceive, remark," Old High German antseffen, Old English sefa "mind, understanding, insight," Old Norse sefi "thought"). "[N]ow generally used ironically" [Century Dictionary]. Related: Sapiently; sapiential.

also from late 15c.

Entries linking to sapient

Homo sapiens(n.)

the genus of human beings, 1802, in William Turton's translation of Linnæus, coined in Modern Latin from Latin homo "man" (technically "male human," but in logical and scholastic writing "human being;" see homunculus) + sapiens, present participle of sapere "be wise" (see sapient).

Homo as the genus of the human race, within the order Primates, was formally instituted in Modern Latin 1758 by Linnaeus (originally also including chimpanzees). Used since in various Latin or pseudo-Latin combinations intended to emphasize some aspect of humanity, as in Henri Bergson's Homo faber "man the tool-maker" (in "L'Evolution Créatrice", 1907).

insipid(adj.)

1610s, "without taste or perceptible flavor," from French insipide "insipid" (16c.), from Late Latin inspidus "tasteless," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + Latin sapidus "tasty," from sapere "have a taste" (also "be wise;" see sapient). Figurative meaning "uninteresting, dull" first recorded in English 1640s, probably from Medieval Latin or the Romance languages, where it was a secondary sense.

In ye coach ... went Mrs. Barlow, the King's mistress and mother to ye Duke of Monmouth, a browne, beautifull, bold, but insipid creature. [John Evelyn, diary, Aug. 18, 1649]

Related: Insipidly.

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sapience
late 14c., "wisdom, understanding, sageness; the reasonable soul, that which distinguishes humans from beasts," from Old French sapience and directly from Latin sapientia "good taste, good sense, discernment; intelligence, wisdom," from sapiens "sensible; shrewd, knowing, discret
savoir-faire
"instinctive knowledge of the right course of action in any circumstance, faculty of knowing just what to do and how to do it," 1815 (Scott), a French phrase in English, literally "to know (how) to do," from savoir "to know" (from Latin sapere; see sapient) + faire (from Latin fa
savor
c. 1200, savour, "agreeable flavor; agreeable smell; pleasure, delight," from Old French savor "flavor, taste; sauce, seasoning; delight, pleasure," from Latin saporem (nominative sapor) "taste, flavor," related to sapere "to have a flavor" (see sapient). By c. 1300 as the flavor
sagacious
c. 1600, "keenly perceptive, discerning," originally of persons in reference to the sense of smell," with -ous + stem of Latin sagax "of quick perception" (see sagacity). The sense of "skilled at discovering truths," especially as regards human natures, is by 1640s. It is not con
perspicacious
"sharp-sighted," also "of acute mental discernment," 1630s, formed as an adjective to perspicacity, from Latin perspicax "sharp-sighted, having the power of seeing through; acute," from perspicere "look through, look closely at," from per "through" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forwa
republic
"state in which supreme or executive power rests in the people via representatives chosen by citizens entitled to vote," c. 1600, from French république (15c.), from Latin respublica (ablative republica) "the common weal, a commonwealth, state, republic," literally res publica "p
believe
Middle English bileven, from Old English belyfan "to have faith or confidence" (in a person), earlier geleafa (Mercian), gelefa (Northumbrian), gelyfan (West Saxon), from Proto-Germanic *ga-laubjan "to believe," perhaps literally "hold dear (or valuable, or satisfactory), to love
Maranatha
late 14c., "at the coming of the Lord," a Bible word, from Greek maranatha, a Greek form of an untranslated Aramaic (Semitic) word in I Corinthians xvi.22, where it follows Greek anathema (with which it has no grammatical connection), and therefore has been taken as part of a phr
intrinsic
late 15c., "interior, inward, internal," from Old French intrinsèque "inner" (14c.), from Medieval Latin intrinsecus "interior, internal," from Latin intrinsecus (adv.) "inwardly, on the inside," from intra "within" (see intra-) + secus "along, alongside," from PIE *sekw-os- "fol
obedience
c. 1200, "the practice or virtue of submission to a higher power or authority;" late 14c., "dutiful compliance with a command or law," from Old French obedience "obedience, submission" (12c.), from Latin oboedientia "obedience," abstract noun from oboedientem (nominative oboedien

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