Wiktionary

sentence

EnglishEdit

 
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EtymologyEdit

Borrowing from Middle French sentence, from Latin sententia (“way of thinking, opinion, sentiment”), from sentiēns, present participle of sentiō (“to feel, think”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sent- (“to feel”).

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /ˈsɛntəns/
    • (General American) IPA(key): [ˈsɛntn̩t͡s], [ˈsɛnʔn̩t͡s]
      • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛntəns
  • Hyphenation: sen‧tence

NounEdit

sentence (plural sentences)

  1. (dated) The decision or judgement of a jury or court; a verdict. [from 14th c.]
    The court returned a sentence of guilt in the first charge, but innocence in the second.
    • 1959 October, Colin G. Maggs, “The Bristol-Frome branch of the W.R.”, in Trains Illustrated, page 473:
      A branch that has played a significant part in the history of its territory is under sentence at the end of the summer timetables, so far as its passenger services are concerned.
  2. The judicial order for a punishment to be imposed on a person convicted of a crime. [from 14th c.]
    The judge declared a sentence of death by hanging for the infamous child rapist.
  3. A punishment imposed on a person convicted of a crime.
  4. (obsolete) A saying, especially from a great person; a maxim, an apophthegm. [14th–19th c.]
  5. (grammar) A grammatically complete series of words consisting of a subject and predicate, even if one or the other is implied, and typically beginning with a capital letter and ending with a full stop or other punctuation. [from 15th c.]
    Hypernym: syntagma
    The children were made to construct sentences consisting of nouns and verbs from the list on the chalkboard.
  6. (logic) A formula with no free variables. [from 20th c.]
  7. (computing theory) Any of the set of strings that can be generated by a given formal grammar. [from 20th c.]
  8. (obsolete) Sense; meaning; significance.
    • 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, Canterbury Tales. General Prologue:
      Noght o word spak he moore than was neede,
      And that was seyd in forme and reverence
      And short and quyk and ful of hy sentence ...
    • 1649, John Milton, Eikonoklastes:
      now to the discourse itself, voluble enough, and full of sentence, but that, for the most part, either specious rather than solid, or to his cause nothing pertinent.
    • 1915, T. S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, in Prufrock and Other Observations, published 1917:
      Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse
  9. (obsolete) One's opinion; manner of thinking. [14th–17th c.]
  10. (now rare) A pronounced opinion or judgment on a given question. [from 14th c.]

SynonymsEdit

HypernymsEdit

HyponymsEdit

Related termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

(dated) decision or judgement of a court — See also translations at judgment,‎ verdict
punishment imposed on a person convicted of a crime — See also translations at punishment
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

VerbEdit

sentence (third-person singular simple present sentences, present participle sentencing, simple past and past participle sentenced)

  1. To declare a sentence on a convicted person; to condemn to punishment.
    The judge sentenced the embezzler to ten years in prison, along with a hefty fine.
    Synonym: pass sentence
  2. (especially law or poetic) To decree, announce, or pass as a sentence.
    • 1874, Ella Taylor Disosway, South Meadows: A Tale of Long Ago, page 235:
      “We are empowered to deliver thee to prison; yea, the law commands us to sentence death upon the abettors of this mischief. […] "
    • 1977, Eugene B. Meier, How was the Acculturation of Children of Alt Lutheraner Descent in Wisconsin 1843 - 1915 Affected by the Relationship of Home and Market?: A Case Study, page 150:
      So as far as the older generation of German Lutherans were concerned, the abolition of the mother language sentenced death upon the church as they knew it.
    • 1991, Joe Wayman, If You Promise Not to Tell, Pieces of Learning, →ISBN, page 36:
      But little did I know, As I cleared away that snow, I'd sentenced death upon that rose, For late that night it simply froze. I'd taken its one chance away, As I stripped it of its quilt that day. I learned a lesson late that night, ...
    • 1996, United States. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit), Annual Report of the Ninth Circuit, page 137:
      […] upholding Idaho statute mandating that court "shall" sentence death upon finding an aggravating circumstance "unless" it finds outweighing mitigating circumstances because satisfies individualized sentencing requirement […]
  3. (obsolete) To utter sententiously.
    • 1623, Owen Feltham, Resolves: Divine, Moral, Political
      Let me heare one wise man sentence it, rather then twenty Fooles, garrulous in their lengthened tattle.

TranslationsEdit

Further readingEdit

CzechEdit

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): [ˈsɛntɛnt͡sɛ]
  • Hyphenation: sen‧ten‧ce

NounEdit

sentence f

  1. sentence (formula with no free variables)
  2. sentence (grammar)
    Synonym: věta

DeclensionEdit

Declension of sentence
singular plural
nominative sentence sentence
genitive sentence sentencí
dative sentenci sentencím
accusative sentenci sentence
vocative sentence sentence
locative sentenci sentencích
instrumental sentencí sentencemi

FrenchEdit

EtymologyEdit

Inherited from Old French sentence, itself borrowed from Latin sententia.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

sentence f (plural sentences)

  1. sentence
  2. verdict
  3. maxim, saying, adage

Further readingEdit

LatvianEdit

NounEdit

sentence f (5th declension)

  1. aphorism
  2. maxim

DeclensionEdit

Declension of sentence (5th declension)
singular (vienskaitlis) plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs) sentence sentences
accusative (akuzatīvs) sentenci sentences
genitive (ģenitīvs) sentences sentenču
dative (datīvs) sentencei sentencēm
instrumental (instrumentālis) sentenci sentencēm
locative (lokatīvs) sentencē sentencēs
vocative (vokatīvs) sentence sentences

SynonymsEdit

Middle FrenchEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Latin sententia.

NounEdit

sentence f (plural sentences)

  1. sentence (judgement; verdict)
    • 1532, François Rabelais, Pantagruel:
      […] puis retourna s'asseoir et commença pronuncer la sentence comme s'ensuyt :
      […] then went back and sat down and started to give the verdict as follows:
  2. sentence (grammatically complete series of words)
    • 1552, François Rabelais, Le Tiers Livre:
      tant a cause des amphibologies, equivocques, & obscuritez des motz, que de la briefveté des sentences
      (please add an English translation of this quote)

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