English
savvy
Savvy comes from Portuguese sabe ‘she/he knows’, from saber ‘to know’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁p-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₁p-reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sapjō‘to taste’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsapiōas sapere‘to taste’
- Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500saber
- Portuguesec. 1500–presentsame form‘to know’
- Portuguese, derivedc. 1500–presentsabe‘she/he knows’
- Englishearliest quotation 1925savvy
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₁p-reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sapjō‘to taste’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsapiōas sapere‘to taste’
- Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500saber
- Portuguesec. 1500–presentsame form‘to know’
- Portuguese, derivedc. 1500–presentsabe‘she/he knows’
- Englishearliest quotation 1925savvy
Earliest quotation: 1925, Sinclair Lewis, Harcourt Brace & Co.: “He's probably a perfect technician as a surgeon, but…”
The story
Alteration of save, sabi (‘to know’) (in English-based creoles and pidgins), from Portuguese sabe (‘[she/he] knows’), from saber (‘to know’), from Latin sapere (‘to taste; to know’). First appears c. 1785 in a dictionary by Francis Grose, as a noun, “practical sense, intelligence”; also a verb, “to know, to understand”. The adjective is first recorded 1905, from the noun.
Linked words
through Latin sapiō ‘to taste’
sage, sapiens, insipid, savory, savour, savant, sapient, sabe, 13 more
Today it means
adj Shrewd, well-informed and perceptive.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *seh₁p- / savvy