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savvy

 - 4 dictionary results

sav⋅vy

  [sav-ee] verb, -vied, -vy⋅ing, noun, adjective, -vi⋅er, -vi⋅est. Informal.
Use savvy in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
1. to know; understand.
–noun
2. Also, sav⋅vi⋅ness. practical understanding; shrewdness or intelligence; common sense: a candidate who seemed to have no political savvy.
–adjective
3. shrewdly informed; experienced and well-informed; canny.
Origin:
1775–85; < Sp sabe, pres. 3rd sing. of saber to know < L sapere to be wise; see sapient
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To savvy
sav·vy   (sāv'ē)   
adj.   sav·vi·er, sav·vi·est
Well informed and perceptive; shrewd: savvy Washington insiders.
n.  Practical understanding or shrewdness: a banker known for financial savvy.
tr. & intr.v.   sav·vied (sāv'ēd), sav·vy·ing, sav·vies (sāv'ēz)
To understand; comprehend.

[From Spanish sabe (usted), (you) know, from saber, to know, from Old Spanish, from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, from Latin sapere, to be wise; see sep- in Indo-European roots.]
sav'vi·ly adv.
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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Slang Dictionary
savvy [ˈsævi]

  1. tv. & in.
    to understand (someone or something). (Adapted from Spanish sabe, he knows.) : Do you savvy?
  2. n.
    knowledge; know-how. : I don't have the savvy necessary to do the job.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

savvy 
1785, as a noun, "practical sense, intelligence;" also a verb, "to know, to understand;" W. Indies pidgin borrowing of Fr. savez(-vous)? "do you know?" or Sp. sabe (usted) "you know," both from V.L. *sapere, from L. sapere "be wise, be knowing" (see sapient). The adj. is first recorded 1905, from the noun.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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