ˈsāpēən(t)s, ˈsap- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin sapientia, from sapient-, sapiens (present participle) + -ia -y
1.
a. : the quality of being sapient : profound knowledge : wisdom , sageness
the perspective of four or five decades informing his judgment with a clarity and authority which are what we mean by sapience — E.A.Weeks
b. obsolete : wisdom regarding ultimate principles in speculative or theoretical rather than practical knowledge
wisdom … may denote either sapience , a habit of knowing what is true; or prudence, a disposition of choosing what is good — Isaac Barrow
2. obsolete : exactness and discrimination in expression