Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite

I'm not a native speaker of English. I wish to know what the word savvy means in this context:

network-savvy

share|improve this question

3 Answers

up vote 6 down vote accepted

Savvy in this context refers to someone who has some practical knowledge of networks. See for instance this definition.

I personally really like this word, and it has been my experience that computer techs use it a lot behind the scenes to describe whether or not a user can receive instruction. For instance,

Is he computer-savvy or am I going to have to go down there and turn on his computer myself?

Also used to query for depth of knowledge

How network-savvy is she? Do you think she would know how to ping her server?

share|improve this answer
I found this word reading and old Java programming language features doc. So in that is written: Java is network-savvy but because it's not a person how can I interpret well? – xdevel2000 May 19 '11 at 14:01
2  
@josh Probably in that context it means "Java has useful network-communication-related programming libraries" – BradC May 19 '11 at 14:06
@BradC, yes it seems the more likely meaning. Thanks. – xdevel2000 May 19 '11 at 14:13
@xdevel2000 Yes, BradC has the right idea. If you're not talking about a person, then "savvy" would still indicate that whatever it is (in this case Java) understands networks. The most sensible way to interpret that would be as @BradC suggested. – KitFox♦ May 19 '11 at 15:16
up vote 3 down vote

'X-savvy' means well-versed in the intricacies of X, or knows a lot about X.

It can be used stand-alone, as in "That person is very savvy about political conspiracies"

It comes from the French 'savoir' - to know how.

It can also be used as a verb 'Do you savvy?' of 'Savvy?' meaning 'Do you understand?' (it sounds very 'Pirates of the Caribbean')

share|improve this answer
Ahh, yes. Pirate-savvy use of savvy. See for comparison Gangster use of Capice, although I think the response to "Capice?" should be "Capisco." – KitFox♦ May 19 '11 at 15:13
Etymonline also cites the Spanish "sabe" as a possible origin. I'm inclined to think the verb-form came first, as "Savez-vous?" degenerates to "Savvy?" in a very obvious way. – user1579 May 19 '11 at 17:31
up vote 0 down vote

It's used to denote familiarity and experience with a particular field.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.