Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[BMO]

What is a political savvy, someone who knows the politics very well or who just has understanding of political situation?

Thanks.

[bud]

It could be either, BMO. Most often, though, it describes a person who has a talent for negotiating the political issues in his or her own life, such as the ones in the workplace.

[BMO]

Thanks. But this pose another question. I thought this strictly refers to "politics" in the political arena, not in an office or your daily life.

Thanks.

[advoca]

Hi BMO,

Can I add something? Savvy is an informal way of describing the sophisticated and intuitive understanding of something, especially of the way organizations work and of people's motives for action.

If you are savvy about something you have sophisticated understanding of that subject.

The word is derived from the Spanish word meaning to know.

You might know a lot about computers. Then you could be described as being computer savvy. Similarly, if you are politically savvy you know a lot about politics.

[BMO]

Thanks Advoca,

And politics doesn't refer to office politics, right?

Thanks.

bmo

[bud]

BMO, do a search on the term. You will see that most of the links are talking about dealing with the politics in a corporation.

[BMO]

Thanks, I will check it out.

bmo

[LucentShade]

My guess is that it's more from French, although the Spanish is pretty close...Spanish uses the -b- spelling (sabe), and French uses the -v- spelling (savez). They're from the same Latin root (sapere) either way.

[advoca]

Yep, LucentShade, you could be right.

The Online Etymological Dictionary says:

Savvy: 1785, as a noun, "practical sense, intelligence;" also a verb, "to know, to understand;" W. Indies pidgin borrowing of Fr. savez(-vous)? "do you know?" or Sp. sabe (usted) "you know," both from V.L. *sapere, from L. sapere "be wise, be knowing" (see sapient). The adj. is first recorded 1905, from the noun.

[BMO]

Hey, your guys really know the stuff well, the origins.

I have seen in a couple dictionaries that say it came from Spanish "sabe used." Would you care to explain why savory also came from the same root? One is about knowledge, and the other is about taste.

When we say a savvy politician, does it imply he is a master or he just know some stuff?

Thanks.

bmo

[LucentShade]

Saber does also mean "taste" in Spanish, if you put the preposition "a" + [flavor] after it, as in "�se sabe a fresa," "That tastes like strawberries." I'm not sure where the "know" is related--perhaps because taste is one of the senses that you can use to "know" something. Hmm, in Japanese, "meaning" is composed of "mind" and "taste," so maybe there is some innate connection.

[BMO]

Very interesting. "Meaning" in Japanese is imi, where i is definition, intention and mi is taste. The same mi is also in miso, MSG.

This is a very interesting connotation between knowledge and taste.

Could you answer this: When we say a savvy politician, does it imply he is a master or he just know some stuff?

Thanks.

bmo