sapiens
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of sapiens
Borrowed into English from New Latin around 1935–40
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In recent decades, many biologists and anthropologists have come to view Homo sapiens as what’s called a “cooperative breeder.”
From Slate • May 10, 2026
Instead of modern observations, they used archaeological sites as "presence points" for both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.
From Science Daily • Apr. 28, 2026
It was also the time when Homo sapiens first appeared in the archaeological record in Europe and when Neanderthals disappeared.
From Science Daily • Apr. 28, 2026
That work found that ancient southern Africans carried genetic variation outside the range seen in living people and identified Homo sapiens specific variants that may shed light on adaptation and evolution within Africa.
From Science Daily • Apr. 26, 2026
However, these early Homo sapiens still differed from us in skeletal details, had brains significantly smaller than ours, and were grossly different from us in their artifacts and behavior.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
