demi-savant

\də.mi.sa.vɑ̃\

/\də.mi.sa.vɑ̃\/ noun

The verdict

“demi-savant” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Quelqu'un dont l'instruction n'est pas achevée, dont les connaissances sont incomplètes.

Corpus desk

Index FR-demi-savant · demi-savant · French

demi-savant · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "D" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for demi-savant
PropertyValue
Headworddemi-savant
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\də.mi.sa.vɑ̃\
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « demi-savant » en français

demi-savantreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

demi-savant is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \də.mi.sa.vɑ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Quelqu'un dont l'instruction n'est pas achevée, dont les connaissances sont incomplètes.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for demi-savant, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is demi-savant, spelled D-E-M-I---S-A-V-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Quelqu'un dont l'instruction n'est pas achevée, dont les connaissances sont incomplètes.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how demi-savant appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. S’il lisait, au contraire, quelque pamphlet politique, quelque grave dissertation sur l’économie sociale, livres qu’il préférait aux romans, par ce singulier amour que les demi-savants ont pour les lectures difficiles, il trouvait encore moyen de l’intéresser aux choses mortellement ennuyeuses que souvent il ne parvenait même pas à comprendre ; il croyait…

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "demi-savant"?
"demi-savant" is spelled D-E-M-I---S-A-V-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \də.mi.sa.vɑ̃\.
What does "demi-savant" mean?
As a noun, "demi-savant" means: Quelqu'un dont l'instruction n'est pas achevée, dont les connaissances sont incomplètes.
How do you pronounce "demi-savant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "demi-savant" is \də.mi.sa.vɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "demi-savant" come from?
"demi-savant" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list