Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Spanish ·1780s
Savvy
from ¿sabe?
- Meaning
- Do you know? — pidgin Spanish "savvy" meaning practical knowledge.
- Source word
- ¿sabe?
- Route into English
- West Indian and pidgin shipboard slang; settled in American English by 1800.
- Arrived
- 1780s
From Spanish
American Spanish, not peninsular Spanish, provided most of the modern loanwords — through US expansion westward and Latin American trade.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.