omniscient
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 16, 2021 is: omniscient \ahm-NISH-unt\ adjective 1 : having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight 2 : possessed of universal or complete knowledge Examples: "You'll need to tell me when you don't understand something I've said," Maria said. "I'm not omniscient, you know." "I suppose I had boxed myself into a corner by making the story first person, present tense, and thus not allowing for an omniscient narrator who could act as the Greek chorus for the reader, explaining as needed." — [Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, quoted in The New Yorker, 24 May 2021](https://www.newyorker.com/books/this-week-in-fiction/said-sayrafiezadeh-05-31-21) Did you know? One who is omniscient literally knows all. The word omniscient, which has been part of English since at least the beginning of the 17th century, brings together two Latin roots: the combining form omni-, meaning "all" or "universally," and the verb scire, meaning "to know." 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"). Scire 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)").