sapient

The story

1. Latin · derived fromsapiēns
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*seh₁p-, *sep-“to taste; to try out”
3. Latin · derived fromsapient-
4. Old French · derived fromsapient
5. Middle English · inherited fromsapient“learned, wise”
6. English todaysapient

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English sapient (“learned, wise”), from Old French sapient, or from its etymon Latin sapient-, a stem of sapiēns (“(adjective) discerning, judicious, wise; (noun) wise man, sage”), the present active participle of sapiō (“to have a flavour of, taste like; (figurative) to have good taste; to have discernment or sense; to be prudent, sensible, or wise”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁p-, *sep- (“to taste; to try out”). Doublet of savant. The noun is derived from the adjective, and also influenced by Latin sapiēns (noun) (see above).

Words from the same roots