sentence English · revision 4396

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=la sententia}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈsen.təns/, US /ˈsen.t̬əns/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fro|sentence|t=judgment, decision; meaning; maxim]] (12th century),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and directly from [[la|sententia|t=thought, opinion; judgment; a thought expressed, a saying]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) an irregular, dissimilated formation from sentientem, present participle of sentīre “to feel, perceive, be of opinion”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) the source of [[sense]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “Doctrine, authoritative teaching”: probably before 1200 in Barnhart, in the Ancrene Riwle,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1200 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The OED's first sense, “way of thinking, opinion”, is from 1340.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Etymonline traces the Latin meanings from “way of perceiving in the mind” to “opinion” to “decision, judgment”.^(Etymonline) In English a judgment rendered by God or by one in authority, and a court's verdict, are from the early 14th century,^(Etymonline) and the punishment imposed by a court from about 1300 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1340 in the OED.^(OED 1989) “Understanding, wisdom, edifying matter”, frequent in Chaucer, is from the late 14th century and now obsolete,^(Etymonline) as is a pithy saying or maxim, from about 1380.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) An utterance or statement is from before 1382, in the Wycliffe Bible,^(Barnhart 1988) and the grammatical sense, a statement with a subject and predicate, from before 1398 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the 15th century in Hoad,^(Hoad 1986) common from about 1600 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The verb, to pass judgment, is from 1413,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1400 in the OED,^(OED 1989) and to condemn to a punishment from the 1590s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – doctrine, teaching.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – a court's punishment.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1340 – opinion.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1380 – a maxim.^(OED 1989)

+ * a. 1382 – an utterance.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a. 1398 – a grammatical sentence.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1413 – verb, to pass judgment.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1590s – verb, to condemn.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A grammatical unit, with a [[subject]] and a [[predicate]] containing a finite verb, that expresses a complete thought.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A court's judgment, especially the [[punishment]] given to a convicted person.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A maxim or opinion.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To pronounce a sentence on (a convicted person): ''sentenced to ten years''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sentential]]

+ * [[sententially]]

+ * [[sentencer]]

+ * [[minor sentence]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sententious]]

+ * [[sense]]

+ * [[sentiment]]

+ * [[sentient]]

+ * [[consent]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}