Where does “sense” come from?
sense (Middle English) comes from Old French sens, from Latin sēnsus, from Dutch census, from Latin census, from Latin censeo, from Proto-Italic kensēō, from Proto-Italic kensējō, from Proto-Indo-European ḱens-éh₁-ye-ti — to cover, conceal; hornless.
Ancestry of “sense”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | sens | reason; ability to reason or think |
| 2 | Latin | sēnsus | — |
| 3 | Dutch | census | — |
| 4 | Latin | census | census, a registering of the populace and their... |
| 5 | Latin | censeo | I give an opinion; I think, suppose or judge; I... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | kensēō | to give an opinion |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kensējō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱens-éh₁-ye-ti | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱens- | to announce, to proclaim; to put in order |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱem- | to cover, conceal; hornless |
Words derived from “sense”