Sanity

How to spell sanity

6 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce sanity

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does sanity mean?

1. nounThe state of having a healthy, rational mind; sound judgement or reasonableness.

Sanity in a sentence

• A quiet walk each evening helped her hold on to her sanity during the busy season.

• The new budget rules finally brought some sanity to the department's spending.

Where does sanity come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin sanitas, meaning 'health' or 'soundness', which was built on the adjective sanus, meaning 'healthy', 'sound', or 'whole'. In its earliest Latin use it referred to bodily health rather than the mind, and the same root survives in the word 'sane' and in the medical phrase 'sanitary'. English took the word in by way of Old French during the late Middle Ages, around the 1400s, at first meaning health in general. Over time the meaning narrowed toward soundness of mind, which is its dominant modern sense. The spelling stays close to the Latin original, so remembering the link to 'sane' and 'sanitary' helps keep the single n and the -ity ending in mind.

How the word is built

• san- (from Latin sanus: healthy, sound)
• -ity (noun suffix forming a state or quality)