savant

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciationsEnglish: /ˈsævənt/, French: /savɑ̃/

US:USA pronunciation: IPAUSA pronunciation: IPA/sæˈvɑnt, ˈsævənt/

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(sa vänt′, sav′ənt; Fr. sa vän′)


Inflections of 'savant' (n): npl: savants

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
sa•vant /sæˈvɑnt, ˈsævənt/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. a person of great or deep learning;
    a scholar.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
sa•vant  (sa vänt′, sav′ənt; Fr. sa vän′),USA pronunciation n., pl. sa•vants 
    (sa vänts′, sav′ənts; Fr. sa vän′).USA pronunciation 
  1. a person of profound or extensive learning;
    learned scholar.
  • French: man of learning, scholar, old present participle of savoir to know Latin sapere to be wise; see sapient
  • 1710–20

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
savant /ˈsævənt; French: savɑ̃/ n
  1. a man of great learning; sage
  2. a person with a learning disability who performs brilliantly at some specialized intellectual task
Etymology: 18th Century: from French, from savoir to know, from Latin sapere to be wise; see sapientˈsavante fem n
'savant' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
idiot savant - pundit - troilite - scholar

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "savant" in the title:


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