Etymograph

English

sagacity

Sagacity comes from Latin sagācitās ‘sagaciousness’, from sāgiō ‘to perceive by the senses’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- ‘to seek out’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₂g-‘to seek out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*séh₂gyeti‘to seek out, to track’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sāgiōreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsāgiō‘to perceive by the senses’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsagāx‘of quick perception, acute, sagacious’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsagācitās‘sagaciousness’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentsagacité
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1607sagacity

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₂g-‘to seek out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*séh₂gyeti‘to seek out, to track’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sāgiōreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsāgiō‘to perceive by the senses’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsagāx‘of quick perception, acute, sagacious’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsagācitās‘sagaciousness’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentsagacité
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1607sagacity

Earliest quotation: 1607, Edward Topsell, The History of Four-footed Beasts: “[…] this Beast [the Ichneumon] is not only enemy…”

Formed from -acity

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- ‘to seek out’

sake, sucker, hegemony, beseech, saya, hegemon, 19 more

through Proto-Indo-European *séh₂gyeti ‘to seek out, to track’

seek, soc, 5 more

through Latin sāgiō ‘to perceive by the senses’

presage, sagittal, 4 more

Today it means

noun The quality of being sage, wise, or able to make good decisions; the quality of being perceptive, astute or insightful.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- / sagacity

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