sentiment (French)
Where does "sentiment" come from?
The French noun 'sentiment' is inherited from Old French 'sentement'[1]. This Old French form traces back to Latin 'sentimentum'[1], which is derived from the verb 'sentiō'[2] meaning to feel. Going further back, 'sentiō' descends from Proto-Italic '*sentjō'[3][4], originating in the Proto-Indo-European root '*sent-' meaning 'to feel' or 'to feel, notice'[3][4]. Over its history, the word has maintained meanings related to general thoughts, senses, feelings, and opinions.
Open questions
- The Proto-Italic and Proto-Indo-European forms are reconstructed stages rather than directly attested historical spellings. [3] [4]
Full etymology tree
- sentiment (French), 'a sentiment, general thought, sense or feeling'
- inherited sentement (Old French)
- inherited sentimentum (Latin), 'feeling, opinion, sentiment'
- derived sentio (Latin), 'to feel, to sense, to perceive (with the senses)'
- inherited *sentjō (Proto-Italic), 'to feel, to sense, to perceive'
- inherited *sent- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to go'
- inherited *sentjō (Proto-Italic), 'to feel, to sense, to perceive'
- suffix -mentum (Latin), 'instrument, medium, or result of'
- derived sentio (Latin), 'to feel, to sense, to perceive (with the senses)'
- inherited sentimentum (Latin), 'feeling, opinion, sentiment'
- inherited sentement (Old French)
Ancestors
- sentimentum (Latin)
Descendants and derived words
- prendre par les sentiments (French)
- sentiment du devoir accompli (French)
- sentiment du fer (French)
Sources
- sentiment (French) - Wiktionary
- sentimentum (Latin) - Wiktionary
- sentio (Latin) - Wiktionary
- sentjō (Proto-Italic) - Wiktionary
Updated September 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris