savvey
Preserved but no longer current.
To know; "do you SAVVEY that?" Spanish, SABE. In the nigger and Anglo-Chinese patois, this is SABBY, "me no SABBY." It is a general word among the lower classes all over the world. It also means acuteness or cleverness; as, "That fellow has plenty of SAVVEY."
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “savvey” mean?
To know; "do you SAVVEY that?" Spanish, SABE. In the nigger and Anglo-Chinese patois, this is SABBY, "me no SABBY." It is a general word among the lower classes all over the world. It also means acuteness or cleverness; as, "That fellow has plenty of SAVVEY."
Is “savvey” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.