Where does “pensive” come from?
Pensive derives from French pensif, from French penser and Latin pendo, meaning to weigh or consider, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)pend-.
pensive (English): Having the appearance of deep, often melancholic,...
Definitions
- Having the appearance of deep, often melancholic,...
Ancestry of “pensive”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | pensif | pensive, thoughtful |
| 2 | Latin | pensō | — |
| 3 | Latin | pendō | — |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | pendō | hang, put in a hanging position |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)péndeti | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)pend- | to stretch |
Words derived from “pensive”