omniscient

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 29, 2024 is: omniscient \ahm-NISH-unt\ adjective Omniscient describes someone or something with unlimited knowledge or understanding. // "You'll need to tell me when you don't understand something I've explained," Maria said. "I'm not omniscient, you know." [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omniscient) Examples: "The Abrahamic faiths conceive of God as an omniscient creator and generally [abjure](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abjure) gambling as a result; one of the first laws passed by the Puritans in the [Massachusetts Bay Colony](https://www.britannica.com/place/Massachusetts-Bay-Colony) banned the possession of cards, dice, or gaming tables." — Idrees Kahloon, The New Yorker, 2 Sept. 2024 Did you know? One who is omniscient literally knows all. The word omniscient traces back to two Latin roots: omni-, meaning "all" or "universally," and the noun scientia, meaning "knowledge." You will recognize [omni-](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omni-) as the prefix that tells all in such words as [omnivorous](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omnivorous) ("eating all," or in actual use, "eating both plants and animals") and [omnipotent](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omnipotent) ("all-powerful"). Scientia comes from the Latin verb scīre, meaning "to know," which likewise has a number of other knowledge-related descendants in English, including [conscience](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conscience), [science](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/science), and [prescience](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prescience) (meaning "[foreknowledge](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foreknowledge)").