savant

[sa-vahnt, sav-uhnt, sa-vahn]

noun

plural

savants 

1. a person of profound or extensive learning; learned scholar.

savant

/ ˈsævənt, savɑ̃ /

noun

1. a man of great learning; sage

Other Word Forms

• savante noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of savant¹

1710–20; < French: man of learning, scholar, old present participle of savoir to know ≪ Latin sapere to be wise; sapient

Word History and Origins

Origin of savant¹

C18: from French, from savoir to know, from Latin sapere to be wise; see _sapient

Example Sentences

He was a media savant who leveraged his views into the algorithms of young people, particularly men, who have been historically reluctant to engage in politics.

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To the general public, who did not necessarily understand what he had done, only that it was important, he became, at the age of 37, a full-fledged savant.

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He teed up sets from the punky rapper K.Flay and Cypress Hill’s stoner savant B-Real, who embodied the two strains of L.A.’s response now — righteous fury and indefatigable confidence.

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Brian Wilson, the musical savant who scripted a defining Southern California soundtrack with a run of hit songs with the Beach Boys, has died.

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“Oh, Mary!” is the kind of instant sensation that’s all too rare these days, one so undeniable it immediately breaks through the crowd of theater savants to a wider audience of curious patrons.

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