ENGLISH
REFERENCE

sapiens

adj.
C1 Advanced US //ˈseɪpiənz// sapi·ens

adj. describing a person who has a high level of intelligence and the ability to think about complex ideas. It is most often used in scientific names to talk about humans.

adj. relating to or characteristic of Homo sapiens, the species to which modern humans belong. Often used in biological or psychological contexts to describe advanced cognitive traits.


CONTEXTUAL

Scientists are still researching how the cognitive abilities of Homo sapiens evolved over thousands of years.

COMPLEX

The transition from earlier hominins to Homo sapiens is marked by a significant increase in brain size and the development of complex language systems.

Origin

From translingual Homo sapiens, from Latin sapiēns, present active participle of sapiō (“discern, be capable of discerning”).

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