pensive
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English pensif, pensyfe, pencyve, from Old French pensif (“thoughtful”), from penser (“to think”) (from Latin pēnsō) -if (English -ive).
Pronunciation
editAdjective
editpensive (comparative more pensive, superlative most pensive)
- Engaged in, involving, or reflecting deep or serious thought.
- Having the appearance of deep, often melancholic, thinking.
- Looking thoughtful, especially from sadness.
- 1748, David Hume, Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral., London: Oxford University Press, published 1973, § 4:
- Abstruse thought and profound researches I prohibit, and will severely punish, by the pensive melancholy which they introduce
- 1979, J.G. Ballard, The Unlimited Dream Company, chapter 21:
- Through the deep grass the faces of the three children glowed like pensive moons.
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
edithaving the appearance of thinking
|
looking thoughtful or sad
|
Anagrams
editFrench
editAdjective
editpensive
Old French
editAdjective
editpensive f
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)pend-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɛnsɪv
- Rhymes:English/ɛnsɪv/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with quotations
- French non-lemma forms
- French adjective forms
- Old French non-lemma forms
- Old French adjective forms