English
sentence
Sentence comes from Latin sententia ‘way of thinking, opinion, sentiment’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsententia1‘way of thinking’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600sentence1
- Englishearliest quotation 1596sentence1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English sentence
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edward Topsell, London: John Windet: “[I]f it may bee lawfull to iudge or giue…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsententiaWiktionary, English sentence‘way of thinking’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600sentenceWiktionary, English sentence
- Englishearliest quotation 1596sentenceWiktionary, English sentence. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edward Topsell, London: John Windet: “[I]f it may bee lawfull to iudge or giue…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with sentence, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *sent- ‘to feel’
through Proto-Italic *sentiō
- senseless ← sense ← sense ← sens ← *sennus
- insensible ← īnsēnsibilis ← sēnsibilis ← sentiō
- antisense ← sense ← sense ← sens ← *sennus
through Latin sentiō ‘to feel, think’
98 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
noun The decision or judgement of a jury or court; a verdict.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “sentence”. 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 / Latin sententia / sentence