sensual

Forms

sensual m or f (plural sensuais, comparable, comparative mais sensual, superlative o mais sensual or sensualíssimo)^[1] The 15th century wrote senssual;^[2] sensual is recorded from 1540.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin sēnsuālis (“relating to the senses”), a learned word.^[2][3][4][1] The Latin adjective is formed from Latin sēnsus (“perception, sense”) with the suffix -ālis, and the noun is from sentiō (“to feel, perceive”).^[1][5] Niermeyer records the Medieval Latin word as “relating to the senses”, “material” and “sensual”.^[6]

The inherited outcome of the Latin noun is siso “good sense, judgement”, beside the learned senso; it is also Spanish seso and Galician siso.^[7][8][9] About 1370 the same Latin adjective was borrowed as French sensuel.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the first record to the 15th century, from Cunha's index of medieval Portuguese, in the spelling senssual.^[2] Cunha gives the 15th century for both the adjective “relating to the senses” and the noun “sensual person”.^[3] Cardoso (1569) already glosses it with Latin venereus and voluptarius, “given to sexual pleasure”.^[11]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau (1712) gives both senses: “concerning the senses” (gosto sensual, desejo sensual) and, of a man, “given to the pleasure of the senses”.^[12] Feijó (1734) defines it only as “proper to the senses”.^[13] Vieira (1871–1874) adds “lustful, lascivious”, with a quotation from an 18th-century medical book that reads a man's soft chest as a sign of a sensual nature.^[14]

Derivatives followed in the 19th century: sensualizar in 1836 and sensualismo in 1858.^[15][16] Today the word most often describes what arouses desire or is physically attractive, and Michaelis also records a philosophical sense, relating to sensualism.^[2][1][17]

Timeline

• 15th century – first record, spelt senssual.^[2]
• 1540 – the spelling sensual.^[2]
• 1569 – Cardoso glosses it with venereus and voluptarius.^[11]
• 1712 – Bluteau records gosto sensual and homem sensual.^[12]
• 1734 – Feijó: “proper to the senses”.^[13]
• 1836 – first record of sensualizar.^[15]
• 1858 – first record of sensualismo.^[16]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to the senses or the sense organs.^[2][18][19]
2. Relating to sensuality and physical love.^[2][19]
3. That shows or evokes sensuality: uma voz sensual.^[2][18]
4. Physically attractive; sexy.^[2][1]
5. That arouses sexual desire; lascivious, voluptuous.^[2][18][20]
6. (philosophy) Relating to sensualismo.^[17]

Noun

1. A person devoted to the pleasures of the senses.^[2][19][20]

Word family

• sensualismo
• sensualizar

Related words

• sensualidade
• senso
• siso
• sentir
• Latin sēnsuālis

Usage notes

Aurélio and Priberam point to the paronym censual, a different word.^[18][20]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. sensual
3. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. sensual
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. sensual
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. sensus
6. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. sensualis
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 7822
8. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. sensus
9. ^ Estraviz, Isaac Alonso, Dicionário Estraviz, https://estraviz.org, p. s.v. siso
10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. sensuel
11. ^ a b Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. sensual
12. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. sensual
13. ^ a b Feijó, João de Morais Madureira (1734), Orthographia, ou Arte de escrever, e pronunciar com acerto a lingua portugueza, Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. sensual
14. ^ Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 5, 482
15. ^ a b Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. sensualizar
16. ^ a b Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. sensualismo
17. ^ a b Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. sensual
18. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. sensual
19. ^ a b c Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. sensual
20. ^ a b c Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. sensual