English
sense
Sense comes from Old French sens ‘sense, perception’, partly from Latin sēnsus ‘feeling, meaning’, from sentiō ‘to feel’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sent- ‘to feel’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sent-1‘to feel’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sentiō1‘to feel’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsentiō1‘feel, perceive’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēnsus1‘sensation, feeling, meaning’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sens1‘sense, perception, direction’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sense1‘meaning’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1587sense1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English sense
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., (please specify the folio): “this Basilius, having the quick sense of a lover”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sent-Wiktionary, English sense‘to feel’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sentiōWiktionary, English sense‘to feel’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsentiōWiktionary, English sense‘feel, perceive’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēnsusWiktionary, English sense‘sensation, feeling, meaning’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sensWiktionary, English sense‘sense, perception, direction’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500senseWiktionary, English sense‘meaning’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1587senseWiktionary, English sense. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., (please specify the folio): “this Basilius, having the quick sense of a lover”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with sense, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *sent- ‘to perceive’
through Proto-Italic *sentiō ‘to feel, to sense, to perceive’
- insensible ← īnsēnsibilis ← sēnsibilis ← sentiō
through Latin sentiō ‘feel, perceive’
119 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
noun Any of the manners by which living beings perceive the physical world: for humans sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “sense”. 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- / sense