sapienter

Forms

sapienter (comparative sapientius, superlative sapientissimē)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from sapiēns (“wise”) with the adverb suffix -ter.^[2][1] ⟨sapiēns⟩ is the present participle of sapiō (“to taste; to be wise”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *sap-i- and Proto-Indo-European *sh₁p-i- (“to notice”), cognate with Oscan sipus (“knowing”) and Old Saxon an-sebbian (“to notice”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives Plautus as its first author.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It is to act wisely, sensibly or with true understanding, and it has the comparative ⟨sapientius⟩ and the superlative ⟨sapientissimē⟩.^[2][1] Wiktionary adds the sense of acting judiciously or discreetly.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus.^[4]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Wisely, sensibly, with true understanding.^[2][1]
2. Judiciously, discreetly.^[1]

Related words

• sapiēns
• sapientia
• sapiō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de