Etymology

sagacity

sa·ga·ci·ty
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Today it means: The quality of being sage, wise, or able to make good decisions; the quality of being perceptive, astute or insightful. Full definition →

First used 16th c.French sagacité ← Latin sagācitās
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromsagācitās“sagaciousness”
  2. French · borrowed fromsagacité
  3. English todaysagacity

From French sagacité, from Latin sagācitās (“sagaciousness”), from sagāx (“of quick perception, acute, sagacious”) (whence -acity), from sāgiō (“to perceive by the senses”). Equivalent to sagac(ious) + -ity.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 16th c. The quality of being sage, wise, or able to make good decisions; the quality of being perceptive, astute or insightful.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.