Sententious
Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 12:40 am
• sententious •
Pronunciation: sen-ten-chês • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: 1. Concise, pithy, short but packed with meaning. 2. Pompous, bombastic, moralizing, especially with the overuse of maxims and aphorisms.
Notes: No, today's word does not mean "full of sentences", though the two words are related. As the Word History will show, the meaning of sentence has changed more than the adjective sententious has. It does have two contrary meanings. Be careful using the first since the second is pejorative and tends to overpower it. The adverb is sententiously and the only noun is sententiousness.
In Play: If you intend this word in the first sense above, it is best to add a clarifying word: "I always appreciate Malcolm's comments because they are so sententious and on point." Without supporting evidence, your listener will assume the pejorative meaning: "I don't mind the boss reminding me to get to work on time but I resent her sententious sermons filled with every adage in the English language."
Word History: Today's Good Word goes back through French to Latin sententiosus "full of meaning or opinion" from sententia "opinion, sentiment, intent". Since opinions are how you feel about things, it comes as no surprise that the origin of sententia is the verb sentire "to feel". Opinions expressed in words, of course, generally come out as sentences. For some reason, the root here, is PIE sent- "head for, make go to", which came to the Germanic languages meaning "send", e.g. German senden and English send. The best opinion of the semantic connection between these two meanings is that opinions and feelings are usually expressed, which means sent to others. It isn't convincing but it is the best we can currently do.
Pronunciation: sen-ten-chês • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: 1. Concise, pithy, short but packed with meaning. 2. Pompous, bombastic, moralizing, especially with the overuse of maxims and aphorisms.
Notes: No, today's word does not mean "full of sentences", though the two words are related. As the Word History will show, the meaning of sentence has changed more than the adjective sententious has. It does have two contrary meanings. Be careful using the first since the second is pejorative and tends to overpower it. The adverb is sententiously and the only noun is sententiousness.
In Play: If you intend this word in the first sense above, it is best to add a clarifying word: "I always appreciate Malcolm's comments because they are so sententious and on point." Without supporting evidence, your listener will assume the pejorative meaning: "I don't mind the boss reminding me to get to work on time but I resent her sententious sermons filled with every adage in the English language."
Word History: Today's Good Word goes back through French to Latin sententiosus "full of meaning or opinion" from sententia "opinion, sentiment, intent". Since opinions are how you feel about things, it comes as no surprise that the origin of sententia is the verb sentire "to feel". Opinions expressed in words, of course, generally come out as sentences. For some reason, the root here, is PIE sent- "head for, make go to", which came to the Germanic languages meaning "send", e.g. German senden and English send. The best opinion of the semantic connection between these two meanings is that opinions and feelings are usually expressed, which means sent to others. It isn't convincing but it is the best we can currently do.