Sapience, c'est quoi?

How does the word get associated with the image/sense of the thing sufficient to trigger an integrated action response?

And how does this association get broken when we want to retrieve the word? And come back to us only after conscious mental efforts fail?

Weird composite brain structure, relics (ontogeny recapitulating phylogeny)of successful accidents? Purposeful only in the flesh? Or deeper connected ethereal layers?