sentiment

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsɛn.tɪ.mənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sentement, borrowed from Old French sentement and directly from Medieval Latin sentīmentum, feeling, affection, opinion,^[2][3][4] from Latin sentīre, to feel (see sense).^[2][3][5] The modern spelling, from 1639, was influenced by modern French sentiment.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Personal experience, one's own feeling; physical sensation: about 1374 in the OED, about 1385 in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde in Barnhart.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

The original sense was obsolete after Middle English,^[3] and intention or inclination is from the early 15th century.^[3] What one feels about something, a thought, opinion or attitude, is from 1639 (the 1630s), with the modern spelling,^[2][3][6] and a wider sense, an opinion or view, from 1675.^[6] Hoad dates refined and tender feeling to the 18th century,^[4] and a thought coloured by emotion, especially in literature or art, is by 1709.^[3] The 17th-century sense survives in my sentiments exactly.^[3] Sentimental is from 1749, sentimentality from 1770 and sentimentalism from 1817.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1374 – one's own feeling.^[6]
• early 15th century – intention.^[3]
• 1639 – an opinion or attitude.^[2]
• 1709 – emotional thought in art.^[3]
• 1749 – sentimental.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A view, opinion or attitude, especially one based on feeling.
2. Tender, romantic or nostalgic feeling, sometimes excessively so.
3. A general mental disposition: public sentiment.
4. The emotional meaning of a passage or work.

Word family

• sentimentless
• presentiment
• sentimental

Related words

• sense
• sentient
• consent
• scent

Usage notes

In Lincolnshire and Norfolk dialect, sentiment was used for sediment.^[7]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)