Experientia

Experientia is a Latin noun meaning experience, or knowledge gained through observation and practice. It comes from the verb experiri, meaning to try, test, or learn by trial, and is the linguistic root of the English words experience and experiential.

In classical and medieval Latin, experientia denotes both practical know-how and knowledge obtained through experience. In philosophy, it is linked with empiricist and inductive approaches that place observation and practice as sources of knowledge, sometimes in tension with theory or authority.

A common Latin maxim associated with the term is experientia magistra est, commonly translated as “experience is the teacher” or simply “experience teaches.” The phrase has appeared in scholastic and humanist writings and has entered broader usage as a proverb.

In modern English usage, the word survives in experiential and in phrases such as experiential learning and experiential education, which emphasize learning through reflection on doing. The concept remains central to discussions of how knowledge is acquired and applied outside purely theoretical contexts.