English
antisense
Antisense comes from Middle English sense ‘meaning, signification’, from Old French sens ‘reason’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sent- ‘to perceive’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sent-1‘to perceive’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sentiō1‘to feel, to sense, to perceive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsentiō1‘to feel, to sense, to perceive’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēnsus1‘perception, feeling, sensation’
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sinnaz1‘sense, perception’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*sinn1reconstructed
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*sennus1‘sense, reason’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sens1‘reason’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sense1‘meaning, signification’
- English1500–presentsense1
- Englishtodayantisense1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English antisense
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sent-Wiktionary, English antisense‘to perceive’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sentiōWiktionary, English antisense‘to feel, to sense, to perceive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsentiōWiktionary, English antisense‘to feel, to sense, to perceive’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēnsusWiktionary, English antisense‘perception, feeling, sensation’
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sinnazWiktionary, English antisense‘sense, perception’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*sinnWiktionary, English antisensereconstructed
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*sennusWiktionary, English antisense‘sense, reason’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sensWiktionary, English antisense‘reason’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500senseWiktionary, English antisense‘meaning, signification’
- English1500–presentsenseWiktionary, English antisense
- EnglishtodayantisenseWiktionary, English antisense
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- ‘forehead’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts ‘forehead’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti ‘opposite’
Ancient Greek ᾰ̓ντῐ́ ‘over against, opposite’
English anti-
Proto-Indo-European *sent- ‘to feel’
…
Latin sentiō ‘feel, perceive’
Latin sēnsus ‘sensation, feeling, meaning’
Old French sens ‘sense, perception, direction’
Middle English sense ‘meaning’
English sense
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sent- ‘to perceive’
through Proto-Italic *sentiō ‘to feel, to sense, to perceive’
through Latin sentiō ‘to feel, to sense, to perceive’
sentence, sensitive, consent, consensus, sensible, scent, sensor, sentiment, resent, sensibility, assent, sentient, sentience, 31 more
through Latin sēnsus ‘perception, feeling, sensation’
sensation, sensual, sensuous, sensu, 18 more
through English sense
Today it means
noun The strand of nucleic acid complementary to a strand which codes for an RNA or protein.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “antisense”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sent- / antisense