sentience
English
WOTD – 6 November 2007
Etymology
From sentient, from Latin sentiēns, present participle of sentiō (“feel, sense”). Confer with sentence, its equivalent formation from Classic Latin sententia (for *sentientia).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsɛnʃəns/, /ˈsɛnʃi.əns/, /ˈsɛnti.əns/
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Noun
sentience (usually uncountable, plural sentiences)
- The state or quality of being sentient; possession of consciousness or sensory awareness.
- 1903, Bram Stoker, The Jewel of Seven Stars, ch. 5:
- [T]he shadows . . . presently began to seem, as on last night, to have a sentience of their own.
- 2007 Dec. 28, Alexandra Silver, "Did This Tiger Hold a Grudge?," Time:
- The science of animal sentience is far from a firm one; there's no way of knowing exactly what any animal is feeling.
- 1903, Bram Stoker, The Jewel of Seven Stars, ch. 5:
Related terms
- sentiency
- sentient
- pansentience
Translations
state or quality of being sentient
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Anagrams
- enceintes