savvy
[sav-ee]Informal.
- experienced, knowledgable, and well-informed; shrewd (often used in combination): consumers who are savvy about prices;a tech-savvy entrepreneur.
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- Also sav·vi·ness. practical understanding; shrewdness or intelligence; common sense: a candidate who seemed to have no political savvy.
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- to know; understand.
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Origin of savvy
1775–85; < Spanish sabe, present 3rd singular of saber to know < Latin sapere to be wise; see sapient
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
savvy
- to understand or get the sense of (an idea, etc)
- no savvy I don't (he doesn't, etc) understand
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- comprehension
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- mainly US shrewd; well-informed
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Word Origin
C18: corruption of Spanish sabe (usted) (you) know, from saber to know, from Latin sapere to be wise
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for savviness
savvy
n.
1785, "practical sense, intelligence;" also a verb, "to know, to understand;" West Indies pidgin borrowing of French savez(-vous)? "do you know?" or Spanish sabe (usted) "you know," both from Vulgar Latin *sapere, from Latin sapere "be wise, be knowing" (see sapient). The adjective is first recorded 1905, from the noun. Related: Savvily; savviness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper