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sagacity - 4 dictionary results

sa⋅gac⋅i⋅ty

  [suh-gas-i-tee]
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–noun
acuteness of mental discernment and soundness of judgment.
Origin:
1540–50; < L sagācitās wisdom, equiv. to sagāci- (s. of sagāx) wise (akin to seek ) + -tās -ty 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sa·gac·i·ty   (sə-gās'ĭ-tē)   
n.  The quality of being discerning, sound in judgment, and farsighted; wisdom.

[French sagacité, from Old French sagacite, from Latin sagācitās, quickness of perception, from sagāx, sagāc-, of keen perception; see sagacious.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Sagacity

Sa*gac"i*ty\, n. [L. sagacitas. See Sagacious.] The quality of being sagacious; quickness or acuteness of sense perceptions; keenness of discernment or penetration with soundness of judgment; shrewdness.

Some [brutes] show that nice sagacity of smell. --Cowper.

Natural sagacity improved by generous education. --V. Knox.

Syn: Penetration; shrewdness; judiciousness.

Usage: Sagacity, Penetration. Penetration enables us to enter into the depths of an abstruse subject, to detect motives, plans, etc. Sagacity adds to penetration a keen, practical judgment, which enables one to guard against the designs of others, and to turn everything to the best possible advantage.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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sagacity 
1548, from M.Fr. sagacité, from L. sagacitatem (nom. sagacitas) "quality of being acute," from sagax (gen. sagacis) "of quick perception," related to sagus "prophetic," sagire "perceive keenly," from PIE base *sag- "to track down, trace, seek" (cf. O.E. secan "to seek;" see seek). Also used 17c.-18c. of animals, meaning "acute sense of smell."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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