sapien

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word sapien. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word sapien, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say sapien in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word sapien you have here. The definition of the word sapien will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofsapien, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Etymology

The word is a singular form, derived by back-formation and shortening of translingual Homo sapiens by interpreting the latter as an English plural form. However, in Latin the word sapiens is strictly singular, its plural form being sapientes (and the Latin plural of homo sapiens is homines sapientes).

Noun

sapien (plural sapiens)

  1. (rare, proscribed) A human, a specimen of Homo sapiens.
    • 2009, The Incredibles (comic) #1, page 9
      Ungorilla: You foolish sapien! I am the Ungorilla! I possess the speed and strength of a very strong gorilla! How can you possibly defeat me?
    • 2015, David J. Meltzer, The Great Paleolithic War: How Science Forged an Understanding of America's Ice Age Past, University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 279:
      Better still, with its larger brain Piltdown neatly fit the preconception of what earlier human forms should look like than did either the "primitive" Neanderthals or the small-minded Pithecanthropus skulls. Moreover, it meant that the sapien lineage (in England) could be traced independently of the decidedly more brutish and less human Neanderthals (from Northern Europe) to an earlier period, thereby testifying to the early appearance of an essentially modern human form.

Usage notes

  • The form is considered non-standard and is best avoided.

Anagrams