Etymologically
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sentir

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sɑ̃.tiʁ/[1]

Forms

sentir[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin sentiō (“to perceive by the senses or the mind; to think, judge; to vote”).[2][3][4][5][6] The Latin verb also meant “to realize”, “to have in mind” and “to be affected by”.[3] Its origin is obscure, Rey compares Old Irish “sét” “way” and Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌸𐌰 (gasinþa, “travelling companion”) (Old High German “sindōn” “to travel”, German “sinnen” “to ponder”), and Wiktionary gives Proto-Indo-European *sent- (“to feel”).[3][7][1]

In the sense “to give off a smell” “sentir” eliminated Old French oloir, from Latin oleō, a verb with an awkward conjugation that survives in Spanish oler.[5] Cognate with Romanian simți, Italian sentire, Occitan sentir, Catalan sentir, Spanish sentir and Portuguese sentir.[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Chanson de Roland (1080) in the sense “to perceive by intuition”: Oliviers sent que a mort est feruz “Oliver feels that he has been mortally wounded”.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In the early 12th century it also meant “to know, understand” and, about 1120, “to perceive by smell” (Philippe de Thaon); about 1135 it meant to perceive through the senses in general.[2][3] In the same century it took the senses “to undergo, feel the effects of” (1135), “to feel (an emotion)” (1160) and, in Old French only, “to possess (a woman)”, faire sentir “to make felt” dates from 1221.[2][3]

The sense “to give off the smell of” appears in the early 14th century, sentir bon is found in 1530 and the figurative sentir le bâton “to smack of a beating” in 1656.[3][2][5] Se faire sentir “to make itself felt” dates from 1690 and ne pas pouvoir sentir quelqu'un “not to be able to stand someone” from 1788.[2] In Canadian French sentir also means “to pry, spy”, whence senteux “nosy”.[3]

Timeline

  • 1080 – “To perceive by intuition”, in the Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • c. 1120 – “To smell”, in Philippe de Thaon.[2][9]
  • 1160 – “To feel (an emotion)”, in the Roman d'Eneas.[2]
  • 1221 – Faire sentir in Jean Renart.[2][9]
  • 1314 – The noun sentiment.[5]
  • 1375 – Senteur.[5]
  • 1530 – Sentir bon in Palsgrave.[2]
  • 1788 – Ne pas pouvoir sentir quelqu'un in Féraud.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To feel (a sensation): sentir la fatigue, Je n'ai rien senti.[7][1]
  2. To smell (perceive an odour): Je sens une odeur de soupe.[7][1]
  3. To smell (give off an odour): Ça sent bon, sentir le brûlé.[1][2]
  4. To taste of; to smack of, suggest: Ça sent le piège.[1][2]
  5. To feel, be aware of: sentir le danger, faire sentir, to make felt.[1][3]
  6. Se sentir: to feel (well, ill, tired): Je me sens mieux.[1][3]
  7. Ne pas pouvoir sentir quelqu'un: not to be able to stand someone.[2]
  8. Se faire sentir: to make itself felt.[2][1]

Word family

  • ressentiment
  • ressentir
  • senteur
  • sentiment

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 467a
  7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse