Word of the Day : May 26, 2023

sapient

睿智的；博学的

adjective /SAY-pee-unt/ [ˈseɪpiənt]

What It Means

Sapient is a formal word that means “possessing or expressing great wisdom.”

Sapient 正式词，意思是“表现出极高的智慧”。

SAPIENT in Context

“Many wise and sapient social historians have written on the American cult, and invention, of the weekend. It was only in the 1920s that the five-day work week began to take hold as an American innovation, and only after the Second World War that it became commonplace.” — Adam Gopnik, Town & Country Magazine, 21 July 2020“

许多睿智的社会历史学家都在周末写过关于美国的崇拜和发明。 直到 1920 年，每周工作五天才开始成为美国的一项创新工作制度，直到第二次世界大战后才变得习以为常。”

She was grateful to have in her mentor an ever-reliable source of sapient career advice.

她很感激她的导师是一个永远可靠的明智职业建议向导。

Did You Know?

We human beings certainly like to think we’re wise. It’s a fact reflected in the scientific name we’ve given our species, Homo sapiens, which comes in part from the Latin word sapiens, meaning “wise” or “intelligent.” Sapient (which is basically just a fancy synonym of wise) has the same source. Both words ultimately trace to the Latin verb sapere, meaning “to be wise,” and also “to taste.” Other sapere words pepper the language as well, among them sage (as in “sage advice”), savant, savvy, and savor.

我们当然喜欢认为人类是聪明的。 这是一个事实，反映在我们给自己取的科学物种名称 Homo sapiens 中，该名称来自部分的拉丁词 sapiens，意思是“wise「聪明的」”或“intelligent「聪明的」”。 Sapient（是 wise 的同义词）具有相同的来源。 这两个词最终都追溯到拉丁语动词 sapere，意思是“to be wise「明智」”，也有“to taste「品味」”的意思。 其他与 sapere 有关的词也出现在语言中，其中包括 sage（如“sage advice”）、savant「学者；专家」、savvy 「机智；悟性」和 savor「欣赏…的味；玩味」。

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to reveal a synonym of sapient: sa _ ac _ o _ s.

sagacious