Where does “insensitivity” come from?
Insensitivity comes from English sensitive, from Latin īnsēnsitīvus (not feeling), combining Latin in- (not) and -itās (quality of), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ne (not) and oyd- (to see or perceive).
insensitivity (English): The condition of being insensitive
Definitions
- The condition of being insensitive
Ancestry of “insensitivity”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sensitivity | The quality or state of being sensitive;... |
| 2 | English | sensitive | Having the faculty of sensation; pertaining to... |
| 3 | Middle French | sensitif | — |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | sensitivus | sensitive; detectable, perceivable |
| 5 | Latin | sentio | I feel, I sense, I perceive; I perceive, I am... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | sentjō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sent- | to head for, to go, to travel; to feel |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁es- | to be |