Etymology
Either from earlier *sentientia, from Proto-Italic *sentjentjā, equivalent to sentiens (“feeling, perceiving”) + -ia; or from Proto-Italic *sententjā, a remnant of a PIE root aorist.
Noun
sententia f (genitive sententiae); first declension
- a way of thinking, view, opinion, judgement or sentence
- Synonyms: mēns, sēnsus
- Coordinate terms: opīniō, arbitrātum, auctōritās, cōgitātiō, exīstimātiō
- meā (quidem) sententiā ― (at least) in my view
- ex animī sententiā ― in my sincere opinion, in all honesty
- ex (meā etc.) sententiā ― to someone's liking
- adversum, praeter animī sententiam ― against someone's liking
- dē suā ūnīus sententiā ― on one's own initiative
- a purpose, intention, will (one's thinking in respect to the future)
- Synonyms: cōnsilium, voluntās
- (politics) a vote of opinion (expressed in senate in response to an interrogātiō)
- the vote of a juryman or of a jury
- Synonym: suffrāgium
- sententiam ferre ― to vote
- in sententiam alicuius īre ― to support someone's opinion or policy
- (politics) an authoritative decision, pronouncement, judgement, decree
- Synonyms: dēcrētum, arbitrium, jūdicium, statūtum
- a feeling, sense, idea, notion
- Synonym: cōgitātum
55 BCE,
Cicero,
De Oratore 2.93:
- sententiīsque magis quam verbīs abundantēs
- overflowing with ideas rather than words to express them
- the main drift, substance; spirit of a law (as opposed to letter)
- a thought expressed in words; a sense, meaning, signification
- Synonym: sēnsus
- any terse and pointed observation (esp. moralistic); a maxim, epigram
- Synonyms: praeceptum, adāgium
- (grammar) a self-contained group of words, a finished clause, sentence, period
- Synonyms: sēnsus, periodus
Further reading
- “sententia”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “sententia”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- sententia in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- sententia in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- as one would wish; to one's mind: ex sententia
- to abide by, persist in one's opinion: in sententia manere, permanere, perseverare, perstare
- to give up one's opinion: a sententia sua discedere
- to give up one's opinion: de sententia sua decedere
- to give up one's opinion: (de) sententia desistere
- to be forced to change one's mind: de sententia deici, depelli, deterreri
- to make a man change his opinion: de sententia aliquem deducere, movere
- to win a man over to one's own way of thinking: aliquem ad suam sententiam perducere or in suam sententiam adducere
- to adopt some one's opinion: ad alicuius sententiam accedere, sententiam alicuius sequi
- to freely express one's opinions: sententiam suam aperire
- not to betray one's feelings by one's looks: sententiam fronte celare, tegere
- I think that..: in hac sum sententia, ut...putem
- to discuss a subject more fully on the same lines: plura in eam sententiam disputare
- according to my opinion: mea (quidem) sententia
- many men, many minds: quot homines, tot sententiae
- according to my strong conviction: ex animi mei sententia (vid. sect. XI. 2)
- to alter one's views, intentions: consilium, sententiam mutare
- I am firmly resolved: stat mihi sententia (Liv. 21. 30.)
- those views are out of date: illae sententiae evanuerunt
- those ideas have long ago been given up: illae sententiae iam pridem explosae et eiectae sunt (Fin. 5. 8. 23)
- to explain one's sentiments: sententias (verbis) explicare, aperire
- profound sentiments: sententiae reconditae ex exquisitae (Brut. 97. 274)
- richness of ideas: crebritas or copia (opp. inopia) sententiarum or simply copia
- rich in ideas: sententiis abundans or creber (opp. sententiis inanis)
- the connection: sententiae inter se nexae
- the connection: contextus orationis (not nexus, conexus sententiarum)
- the connection of thought: ratio sententiarum
- the connection of thought: ratio, qua sententiae inter se excipiunt.
- to answer to this effect: respondere in hanc sententiam
- the sentence, proposition: enuntiatio, enuntiatum, sententia
- what is the meaning, the original sense of this word: quae notio or sententia subiecta est huic voci?
- to hold by the letter (of the law): verba ac litteras or scriptum (legis) sequi (opp. sententia the spirit)
- the terms, contents of the letter are as follows: litterae in hanc sententiam or his verbis scriptae sunt
- to love deeply: aliquem ex animo or ex animi sententia amare (Q. Fr. 1. 1. 5)
- I swear on my conscience: ex animi mei sententia iuro
- to vote (in the popular assembly): suffragium ferre (vid. sect. VI. 4, note Not sententiam...)
- the spirit of the law: sententia or voluntas legis
- to ask the opinion of..: sententiam rogare, interrogare
- to give an opinion (also used of a judge, cf. sect. VI. 4): sententiam dicere
- the senate inclines to the opinion, decides for..: senatus sententia inclīnat ad... (De Sen. 6. 16)
- the majority were of the opinion..: sententia vincit (Liv. 2. 4. 3)
- to vote for some one's motion: discedere (pedibus), ire in alicuius sententiam (Liv. 23. 10)
- the finding of the jury: sententiae iudicum
- to give sentence (of the judge, cf. sect. VI. 4, note Not...): sententiam ferre, dicere (Off. 3. 16. 66)
- the tenor of his speech was this..: hanc in sententiam dixit