savant
/'sævənt/
Definition
- Noun:
- A person of profound or extensive learning; a learned scholar: A "savant" is someone who possesses deep and broad knowledge, often in academic or intellectual fields.
- A person with a remarkable, genius-level ability in a specific field, often despite cognitive disabilities: In modern usage, particularly in psychology, a "savant" refers to an individual with extraordinary skills or knowledge in a specific, narrow area, such as calculation, memory, or art, often co-occurring with developmental conditions.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- The conference gathered leading savants from the fields of physics and philosophy.
- He is a savant when it comes to medieval history.
- The documentary profiled a musical savant who could play any piece after hearing it once.
Advanced Usage
- "Savant syndrome": A condition in which a person with significant mental disabilities demonstrates exceptional ability or brilliance in a specific skill or area of knowledge.
- His ability to calculate prime numbers is a classic example of savant syndrome.
Variants and Related Words
- Savante (noun, rare/feminine): A female savant.
- Savantship (noun, archaic): The state or condition of being a savant; profound scholarship.
Synonyms
- Scholar: A specialist in a particular branch of study.
- Expert: A person with comprehensive and authoritative knowledge in a particular area.
- Polymath: A person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning.
- Prodigy: A person, especially a young one, endowed with exceptional qualities or abilities.
Related Phrases
- Idiot savant (noun, dated/now often considered offensive): An outdated term historically used to describe a person with savant syndrome. The preferred modern term is simply "savant" or "autistic savant" when relevant.
- The term "idiot savant" has fallen out of favor due to its pejorative connotations.
Noun
-
someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field
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