Savvy Came Into English From Pidgin
Savvy means practical knowledge or shrewdness. It entered English through sailors' pidgin from Spanish and Portuguese.
Savvy means practical understanding, or shrewd and well-informed. Its route into English is unusual: Spanish *sabe usted*, do you know, and Portuguese *sabe*, he knows, were used in the pidgin spoken around West African and Caribbean ports, and English sailors picked the word up from there. It appears in English from the 1780s, first as a verb meaning to understand. That is why *savvy?* can still end a sentence as a question, a fossil of its pidgin origin.
- Practical knowledge. *Business savvy.*
- Shrewd. *A savvy investor.*
- To understand. *Savvy?*
- Spanish — *sabe*, he knows. *The source.*
- Latin — *sapere*, to be wise. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | savvy | Real savvy. |
| Adjective | savvy | Savvy. |
| Verb | savvy | Savvy? |
| Spanish | sabe | He knows. |
| Latin | sapere | To be wise. |
- She has real political savvy.Noun.
- A savvy shopper compares prices.Adjective.
- Sabe usted means do you know.Etymology.
Words English took from pidgins
- Savvy — from Spanish and Portuguese *sabe*
- Pidgin — probably from a Chinese pronunciation of *business*
- Chow — food, from Chinese Pidgin English
- Long time no see — a calque, probably from Chinese
- Kowtow — from Chinese, through trading contact
From West Indian and West African pidgin, from Spanish *sabe usted*, you know, and Portuguese *sabe*, from Latin *sapere*, to be wise.
Where does savvy come from?
From pidgin English spoken around West African and Caribbean ports, based on Spanish and Portuguese words for knowing.
Are savvy and sapient related?
Yes. Both trace to Latin sapere, to taste and by extension to be wise.