sentience

WOTD – 6 November 2007

English

Etymology

From sentiens, present participle of sentiō (“feel, sense”)

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛnʃəns/, /ˈsɛntʃiəns/

• Audio (US)

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  Audio (US)

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Noun

sentience (uncountable)

1. The state or quality of being sentient; possession of consciousness or sensory awareness.
   • 1903, Bram Stoker, The Jewel of Seven Stars, ch. 5:

     [T]he shadows . . . presently began to seem, as on last night, to have a sentience of their own.

   • 2007 Dec. 28, Alexandra Silver, "Did This Tiger Hold a Grudge?," Time:

     The science of animal sentience is far from a firm one; there's no way of knowing exactly what any animal is feeling.

Related terms

• sentiency
• sentient
• pansentience

Translations

state or quality of being sentient

• German: Empfindungsvermögen (de) n
• Polish: świadomość (pl) f

• Spanish: conciencia (es) f, sensibilidad (es) f