Sensing

How to spell sensing

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce sensing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does sensing mean?

1. verbThe act of detecting, feeling, or becoming aware of something.

Sensing in a sentence

• The new alarm relies on motion sensing technology near the doors.

• Sensing trouble in the figures, the accountant double-checked every column.

Where does sensing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grows from the Latin verb sentire, which meant 'to feel, perceive, or be aware of', and from its related noun sensus, meaning 'the faculty of feeling' or 'a perception'. English took 'sense' from Old French sens during the 1300s, keeping the idea of bodily perception and mental understanding, and over time it sprouted a verb meaning 'to detect or feel something'. Adding the productive '-ing' ending gives the present participle and gerund 'sensing', describing the ongoing act of detecting or becoming aware. The same Latin root sentire quietly powers a whole family of relatives, including 'sentiment', 'consent', 'sentinel', and 'sensation'. Because the spelling keeps a single 's' in the middle and simply drops the silent 'e' of 'sense' before '-ing', the main thing to remember is that no letter is doubled.

How the word is built

• sens- (from Latin sentire: to feel, perceive)
• -ing (gerund / present participle suffix)