savant

[ sa-vahnt, sav-uhnt; French sa-vahn ]

noun

, plural sa·vants [sa-, vahnts, sav, -, uh, nts, s, a, -, vahn].

1. a person of profound or extensive learning; learned scholar.

savant

/ ˈsævənt; savɑ̃ /

noun

1. a man of great learning; sage

Derived Forms

• ˈsavante, noun:feminine

Word History and Origins

Origin of savant¹

1710–20; < French: man of learning, scholar, old present participle of savoir to know ≪ Latin sapere to be wise; sapient

Word History and Origins

Origin of savant¹

C18: from French, from savoir to know, from Latin sapere to be wise; see sapient

Example Sentences

Imagine having 41 of the best runners in the world flown in for the sole purpose of pacing you to glory, and a vast team of logistics savants dedicating years of planning to help you succeed on the day.

From Outside Online

Most algorithms trained to accomplish a specific task—like, in DeepMind’s case, to win at games such as Go or Starcraft—are savants.

From Singularity Hub 

The Good Doctor, ABC’s medical drama about an autistic savant who works as a surgical resident, premiered that September and became an instant hit.

From Time

The autistic savant has a gallery in London and has traveled the world while creating his unforgettable images.

From Ozy

In the past few years, even broadcast hits like ABC’s “The Good Doctor,” about a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, are unafraid to tackle these challenges.

From Washington Post

Like a savant, he navigates us through a tasting of three French beers, finished off by a pairing with 18-month-old comté cheese.

From The Daily Beast

She has a blog, Fox on Stocks, where the self-taught savant holds forth on the ins and outs of the market.

From The Daily Beast

Internet savant Aaron Swartz was found dead in his New York apartment on Friday from an apparent suicide.

From The Daily Beast

The New York Times electoral savant was said to be “controversial.”

From The Daily Beast

Lynette becomes a CEO and she and Tom (Doug Savant) move to New York City, buy a penthouse, and have six grandchildren.

From The Daily Beast

The perfumer destined this engraving for the savant Vauquelin, to whom he was under obligations.

From Project Gutenberg

The future famous savant (Desplein) watched by his bedside at the last and closed his eyes.

From Project Gutenberg

She looked up to the young savant, if not as a god or hero, at least as a man far superior to his contemporaries.

From Project Gutenberg

I had been thinking lately that the distinguished savant was going decidedly wrong.

From Project Gutenberg

Liszt wrote a rejoinder in which he failed to justify himself, but succeeded in giving the poor savant some hard hits.

From Project Gutenberg