entry
sensitive
/ˈsɛn.sɪ.tɪv/quickly affected by stimuli or feelings
From Latin sens (feel).
from Latin sensus , past participle of sentire "feel, perceive" (see sense (n.)). Also in early Modern English...
from Medieval Latin sensitivus "capable of sensation,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French sensitif "capable of feeling" (13c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Medieval Latin sensitivus "capable of sensation,"
+1 more sourcefrom Medieval Latin sensitivus "capable of sensation,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French sensitif "capable of feeling" (13c.) and directly
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Latin sensus , past participle of sentire "feel, perceive" (see sense (n.)). Also in early Modern English...
from Medieval Latin sensitivus "capable of sensation,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French sensitif "capable of feeling" (13c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Medieval Latin sensitivus "capable of sensation,"
+1 more sourcefrom Medieval Latin sensitivus "capable of sensation,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French sensitif "capable of feeling" (13c.) and directly
+1 more sourceThis one starts with the body before it ever reaches the heart. In medieval classrooms, Latin sensitivus meant something that could receive an impression — a nerve, a skin, a faculty of the soul — and by the 1300s French clerks were already writing sensitif. That same sens family gives us sensible, sensual, and sentiment, so when someone is sensitive they’re living on the same family tree as consent and dissent: all those words orbit the old idea of feeling and judgment. English later stretched the word into stranger corners, from the shy, easily hurt person to the nerve-jangling precision of instruments and, by 1953, the ominous Cold War phrase sensitive information. And if you want a picture you won’t forget, think of the sensitive plant — the mimosa that folds up at a touch — a tiny botanical reminder that some things in life do not just notice the world, they flinch at it.
The Story
This one starts with the body before it ever reaches the heart. In medieval classrooms, Latin sensitivus meant something that could receive an impression — a nerve, a skin, a faculty of the soul — and by the 1300s French clerks were already writing sensitif. That same sens family gives us sensible, sensual, and sentiment, so when someone is sensitive they’re living on the same family tree as consent and dissent: all those words orbit the old idea of feeling and judgment. English later stretched the word into stranger corners, from the shy, easily hurt person to the nerve-jangling precision of instruments and, by 1953, the ominous Cold War phrase sensitive information. And if you want a picture you won’t forget, think of the sensitive plant — the mimosa that folds up at a touch — a tiny botanical reminder that some things in life do not just notice the world, they flinch at it.
Modern Usage
emotionally aware, deeply empathetic, or easily moved
Popularized by: social media and contemporary self-help / relationship discourse
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries emphasizing emotional awareness and world-pain sensitivity
Kin & Kindred
From 'sens'·feel, perceive
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From '-ive'·forming adjectives of tendency or relation
Derived Terms
English words from this root