consensual

Etymology

The OED takes it as borrowed from New Latin consensualis, recorded from 1584,^[2] from classical Latin consēnsus (“agreement, accord”) and the suffix -ālis.^[2][3] Other dictionaries analyse it as consensus with the English suffix -al.^{[4][5][6][7][8][3]} The Latin noun is the past participle of consentiō (“to feel together, agree”),^[8][7] formed from com- (“with, together”) and sentiō (“to feel”).^[8] A variant consentual was remodelled after consent.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In physiology, resulting from a special relationship between two parts of the body: 1662, in J. Chandler's translation of van Helmont's Oriatrike.^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date the word to 1754.^[8][4]

Semantic evolution

The word was first used in physiology, of a part of the body that responds in sympathy with another,^[2] and later of reflexes, such as the reaction of both eyes to a light shone into one.^[5][6] From 1689 it also meant relating to or involving consent,^[2] and in the early 18th century it began to be used in Roman law of a contract that needs only the agreement of the parties, without any written act.^[2][5][4] According to Etymonline, it was used almost only of legal contracts and of the eyes working together until modern times; sociology and psychology widened it in the 1950s, to social groups and marriages that were not arranged,^[8] and it was used of sexual activity from 1961, in legal discussions of rape by 1977.^[2][8]

Timeline

• 1662 – physiology, involving a special relationship between two parts of the body.^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date the word to 1754.^[8][4]
• 1689 – relating to or involving consent; agreed to by those involved.^[2]
• before 1715 – Roman law, of a contract based only on the consent of the parties.^[2]
• 1950s – extended in sociology and psychology to social groups and to marriages that were not arranged.^[8]
• 1961 – of sexual activity, taking place with the willing consent of those involved.^[2] Etymonline finds it in legal discussions of rape by 1977.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Done or taking place with the consent of everyone involved, especially of sexual activity between adults: a consensual relationship.^[6][4][2]
2. Based on general agreement or consensus: The committee preferred a consensual style of decision-making.^[4][2]
3. (law) Of a contract or agreement: existing by mutual consent alone, without a written act.^[6][4][2]
4. (physiology) Of a reflex or other involuntary response: occurring in one part of the body when another part is stimulated, as when both eyes react to a stimulus applied to only one.^[6][4][5]

Word family

• consensually

Related words

• consensus
• consent
• sense
• sentient

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com