Where does “sensitivity” come from?

Sensitivity comes from Middle French sensitif, from Latin sensitivus, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European sent- meaning to perceive or feel.

sensitivity (English): The quality or state of being sensitive;...

Definitions

  1. The quality or state of being sensitive;...

Ancestry of “sensitivity”, step by step

sensitivity traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English sensitive

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsensitiveHaving the faculty of sensation; pertaining to...
2Middle Frenchsensitif
3Medieval Latinsensitivussensitive; detectable, perceivable
4LatinsentioI feel, I sense, I perceive; I perceive, I am...
5Proto-Italicsentjō
6Proto-Indo-Europeansent-to head for, to go, to travel; to feel
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁es-to be

via English ity

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishity
2Ingrian-uUsed to form nouns from verbs

Words derived from “sensitivity

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁es-