▪ I. sentence, n.
(ˈsɛntəns)
Also 4–5 sentense, 4–6 sentens, 5 centence, centens(e, sentensce.
[a. F. sentence (12th c.) = Pr. sentensa, Sp. sentencia, Pg. senten{cced}a, It. sentenza, ad. L. sententia opinion, maxim, etc., irreg. (for *sentientia) f. sentīre to feel, be of opinion.]
† 1. Way of thinking, opinion. Obs.
| 1340 Ayenb. 69 Þer byeþ zome..þet none guode techinge ne onderuongeþ ak alneway weryeþ hare sentense huet þet hit by. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love iii. ix. (Skeat) 6 The comune sentence of the people..that every thing after destenee is ruled, false and wicked is to beleve. c 1400 Rom. Rose 5813 The baronage to councel wente; In many sentences they fille, And dyversly they seide hir wille. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 364 Se how þat þe worþi prelacie,..Endowyd of profound intelligence, Of al þis land werreyen þi sentence. 1534 More Treat. Passion Wks. 1329/2 Yet is it the most common sentence of al the old holye men. 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 4 Be ye perfite in ane mynd & in ane sentence. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxvii. §11 Touching the sentence of antiquitie in this cause. 1609 Bible (Douay) Josh. ix. 2 The Hetheite and Amorreite..were gathered, to fight against Iosue and Israel with one minde, and one sentence. |
2. a. The opinion pronounced by a person on some particular question, usually, one on which he is consulted or which is being deliberated upon.
| 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints iii. (Andrew) 1022 Þe bischope thocht, and all þe lafe, Þe sentence ganand þat scho gafe. c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶366, I wolde fayn knowe how that ye vnderstonde thilke wordes and what is youre sentence. 1422 Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. xxvi. 156 Ne yeue thow not lyghtly thy sentence. c 1470 Harding Chron. clxxviii. ii, Emong theim selfes our lordes for hie prudence Of the bishop asked counsaill and sentence. 1535 Coverdale Acts xv. 19 Wherfore my sentence is [Gr. ἐγὼ κρίνω], that [etc.]. 1583 Babington Commandm. viii. (1590) 366 Olde Chaucer so long agoe set his sentence downe against this exercise. 1601 Shakes. All's Well i. iii. 80 With that she..gaue this sentence then, Among nine bad if one be good..there's yet one good in ten. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 51 My sentence is for open Warr: Of Wiles, More unexpert, I boast not. 1678 Hobbes Decam. Physiolog. x. 122 It were too bold to pronounce any sentence of its substance. 1725 Pope Odyss. iii. 156 Thy Sire and I were one; nor vary'd aught In publick sentence, or in private thought. |
b. the four books (or the Book) of the Sentence(s: the
Sententiarum libri quatuor, a compilation of the opinions of the Fathers on questions of Christian doctrine, by Peter Lombard (12th c.), thence called
the Master of the Sentences.
| 1387 [see master n.1 13 b]. 1492 Acta Domin. Conc. (1839) 243/1 Ane buk contenand four bukis of þe sentence. 1563 J. Man Musculus' Commonpl. 273 The Master of the Sentences did but gather together the opinions and Sentences of the Fathers. 1682 N. O. Boileau's Lutrin ii. 10 This Baggage once in her mad Moods and Tenses Had Lombard read, the Master o' th' Sentences. |
c. the Reading of the Sentences: the office of lecturing on the ‘Books of Sentences’ (see b), which was the special mark of the second of the three stages of the degree of Bachelor of Divinity in mediæval universities.
| 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon., Fasti I. 745 Hieronim. Schlick, Count of Passan,..was then admitted to the reading of the Sentences. 1886 Lyte Univ. Oxf. 107 The Dominicans [in 1313]..took exception to another recent statute of the University, which forbade any one to lecture on the text of the Bible who had not already lectured on the Sentences and taken the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. |
3. An authoritative decision; a judgement pronounced by a tribunal.
† a. spec. = sentence of excommunication.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. 133/932 Ȝif ani man hond on ov set ich ov hote al-so Þat ȝe þe sentence of holi churche for swuche violence ȝe do, And holdez vp holi churche riȝte þat ov is bi-take. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 10370 He esste boc & candle þe sentence to do bliue. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 259 This Pope..Hath sent the bulle of his sentence With cursinge and with enterdit. c 1400 Rule St. Benet (Prose) xxiv. 21 Wylys sho is in sentence, sho ne sal noht be in cuuent, til it be amendid. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 281 As hit fell bysyde þe abbay of Lulsull by þre men þat hadden stolen an ox of þe abbot, and he had made a sentens þerfor. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cccxli. 536 Whiche of them y{supt} euer shulde breke this peace by any maner of wayes, shulde rynne in the sentence of the pope. |
b. gen. The judgement or decision of a court in any civil or criminal cause. Now
rare in popular use; still technically applied to the decisions of the ecclesiastical and admiralty courts.
| c 1386 Chaucer Doctor's T. 172 The Iuge answerde: Of this in his absence I may nat yeue diffynytyue sentence. 1446 in Cov. Leet-bk. 228 Declaracion of a centens yeuon for the priour & Couent of the Cathedrall churche of our Lady of Couentre ayeynest John Bredon. 1477 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 182/2 [The French king] by sentence judiciall dismyssed them and their plegges oute of the seid Courte. 1535 Coverdale Isa. v. 23 These gyue sentence with the vngodly for rewardes. 1550 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 97 My Lord Governour and Lordis of Secreit Counsale, efter lang reasoning upoun the allegeance forsaid be sentence interlocutor, fand that conforme to the lawis [etc.]. 1585 Greene Planetom. Wks. (Grosart) V. 100 Sol, we haue agreed that your sensure shal stand for a sentence, and therefore I wil not inueigh against your verdict. 1590 Swinburne Testaments 9 These two sentences, haue these two contrary effects.., the sentence interlocutorie, may be reuoked at any time so longe as the principall cause dependeth vndecided. But the sentence definitiue cannot be reuoked. 1717 E. Miller Acc. Cambr. 30 Tho' he prosecuted his Action with all the Vigour he could, it was about seven Years before it came to a Sentence, which was at last, in Favour of the Townsman. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) III. 44 No civil or criminal sentence could take place, till the voice of the judge was affirmed by the court. 1817 Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 946 By the sentence of a French court of admiralty it appeared, that the ship insured, ‘warranted American’, had been condemned as enemy's property. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. s.v. Decree, A decree or decreet is the final judgment or sentence of a court, whereby the question at issue between the parties is decided. 1857 Act 20 & 21 Vict. c. 85 §16 A Sentence of Judicial Separation..may be obtained, either by the Husband or the Wife, on the ground of Adultery [etc.]. |
| transf. 1702 Eng. Theophrastus 3 They cannot pass a just sentence upon the performances of their respective writers. |
c. The judicial determination of the punishment to be inflicted on a convicted criminal. Hence, the punishment to which a criminal is sentenced. Also
transf.| c 1340 Hampole Prose Tr. 7 For-thy I had na stabyll purpos in gude, na perfite contrycyone, tharefore sentence of dampnacyone ffelle one me. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 245 Þogh a woman by Goddys sentence bere hur childyr wyth so gret penance. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. i. i. 302 Sir I will pronounce your sentence: You shall fast a Weeke with Branne and water. 1604 ― Oth. i. iii. 119 If you do finde me foule, in her report, The Trust, the Office, I do hold of you, Not onely take away, but let your Sentence Euen fall vpon my life. 1662 Tryal Sir H. Vane 51 After that, out comes the Judgement or Sentence of Death against him. 1747 V. Mathias in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1843) I. 118 I am now to desire you would contrive for to-morrow, that I may hear the Lord High Steward's speech, and sentence passed. 1769 Blackstone Comm. iv. xxix. 373 When sentence of death, the most terrible and highest judgment in the laws of England, is pronounced. 1891 H. Matthews in Law Times XCII. 96/1 A convict who gains by steady industry the maximum number of marks during each day of his sentence. 1893 Leland Mem. I. 144 A noted murderer under sentence of death. |
| fig. 1715 De Foe Fam. Instruct. i. i. (1841) I. 21 We are all under a sentence of death for the first Man's sin. 1842 Kingsley Lett. (1878) I. 61 Our sentence is to labour from the cradle to the grave. 1881 Jowett Thucyd. I. 197 No one when venturing on a perilous enterprise ever yet passed a sentence of failure on himself. |
† d. dark, hard sentence: a difficult problem. (In Bible translations used to render
Heb. ḥīdā{suph},
Aram. ăḥīdā enigma, LXX πρόβληµα,
Vulg. propositio.)
Cf. hard sentence (in sense 7) Chaucer
Astrol. Prol. §1.
| 1535 Coverdale 2 Chron. ix. 1 The quene of rich Arabia..came with a very greate tryne to Ierusalem..to proue Salomon with darke sentences. 1539 Bible (Great) Ps. lxxviii. 2, I wyll declare hard sentences of olde. 1563 Shute Archit. B iij, We can neither know or yet discusse the measures and harde sentences or questions of Symetrie. |
4. a. A quoted saying of some eminent person, an apophthegm. Also, a pithy or pointed saying, an aphorism, maxim.
Obs. exc. Hist. In
Rhetoric formerly used (after L.
sententia) as the rendering of
Gr. γνώµη
gnome1.
| c 1380 Wyclif in Sel. Eng. Wks. II. 399 Crist seiþ to hise apostlis, Ȝe shulen be blessid whanne men shulen curse you... And if þe Chirche were wel enformed of þis sentence..men shulden not drede feyned cursingis. c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 15 Herke what is the sentence of the wise: Bet is to dyen than haue Indigence. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 108 Now euery word and sentence is of cure. 1533 More Answ. Poysoned Bks. Wks. 1087/1 Then cometh there also on this part y⊇ saiengs or sentences of y⊇ holy fathers. 1567 Trial of Treas. A iij, The wyse mans sentence. 1580 Lyly Euphues Wks. 1902 II. 158 Hungry stomackes are not to be fed with sayings against surfettings, nor thirst to be quenched with sentences against drunkennesse. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 244 Who feares a sentence or an old mans saw, Shall by a painted cloth be kept in awe. 1601 B. Jonson Poet. i. ii. 103 Thou speakest sentences, old Bias. 1657 J. Smith Myst. Rhet. 244 Gnome is a figure when we bring in a sentence or such a remarkable saying of anothers to the same purpose with the Author. a 1679 Hobbes Rhet. (1840) 476 To hear a young man speak sentences, is ridiculous. 1727 Pope, etc. Art of Sinking xiii. 115 A poet or orator would have no more to do but to send to the particular traders in each kind,..to the apothegmatist for his sentences, &c. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 79 ¶1 A Greek writer of sentences has laid down as a standing maxim, that he who believes not another on his oath, knows himself to be perjured. 1823 Gillies tr. Aristotle's Rhet. ii. xxi. 328 Sentences have great weight in discourse for two reasons. 1962 T. P. Dunning in Davis & Wrenn English & Medieval Studies 178 That element of the sentence expressed by Pandarus in Book 1—Fortune as the way of the world—is here stated at some length by Criseyde. |
b. In generalized use: Aphoristic speech, sententiousness.
Obs. exc. poet.| c 1530 Crt. of Love 5, I write, as he that none intelligence Of metres hath, ne floures of sentence. 1649 Milton Eikon. 32 A discourse full of sentence. 1917 T. S. Eliot Prufrock & Other Observations 15 Politic, cautious, and meticulous; Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse. |
5. An indefinite portion of a discourse or writing; a ‘passage’. Now only (with approach to sense 6), a short passage of Scripture in liturgical use.
| c 1400 Rule of St. Benet (Prose) lv. 36 Þabbes sal ta yeme of þis sentence of þe dedis of þe apostils. c 1420 Wars Alex. (Prose) (E.E.T.S.) 46 Scho was riȝte sory and wrote a lettre vn-till hym þat contened this sentence [etc.]. 1549 Bk. Com. Prayer, Communion, Then shall folowe for the Offertory, one or mo, of these Sentences of holy scripture. 1557 North Gueuara's Diall Pr. iv. Argt. (1568) 106 b, That man..that vouchsafeth not to spend one hower of the day to read a graue sentence of some good booke. 1611 Cotgr., Rubrique,..a special title or sentence of the Law written, or printed, in red. 1639 in Brit. Mag. (1834) VI. 379 For settyng up the sentences of Scripture in the church, 0. 3. 0. 1753 Challoner Cath. Chr. Instr. 94 After which he reads a short Sentence of Scripture. |
6. a. A series of words in connected speech or writing, forming the grammatically complete expression of a single thought; in popular use often (
= period n. 10), such a portion of a composition or utterance as extends from one full stop to another. In
Grammar, the verbal expression of a proposition, question, command, or request, containing normally a subject and a predicate (though either of these may be omitted by ellipsis).
In grammatical use, though not in popular language, a ‘sentence’ may consist of a single word, as in L.
algeo ‘I am cold’, where the subject (
= I) is expressed by the ending of the verb. English grammarians usually recognize three classes: simple sentences, complex sentences (which contain one or more subordinate clauses), and compound sentences (which have more than one subject or predicate).
| 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys, Agnes 682 Fro sentence to sentence, I dar wele seyn, I hym haue folwyde euen by & by. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 160 Euery lettre, syllable, worde, & sentence of his prayer & duty from the begynnynge to y⊇ ende. 1538 Elyot Dict., Tetracolon, a sentence hauyng .iiii. membres. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 144 At euerie sentence end; Will I Rosalinda write. 1631 in Rymer Fœdera XIX. 305 The Statute before mentioned, or any Clause, Sentence, Matter or Thing whatsoever therein conteyned. a 1653 Binning Princ. Chr. Relig. Wks. (1735) 27 There is some hidden Secret that you must search for, that is inclosed within the Covering of Words and Sentences. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 550 ¶5, I have so well preserved my Taciturnity that I do not remember to have violated it with three Sentences in the space of almost two Years. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v., Every Sentence comprehends at least Three Words. 1748 Richardson Clarissa VII. 177, I would not lose a sentence that I could gain from lips so instructive. 1787 Reid Let. to Gregory 26 Aug., In speech, the true natural unit is a sentence. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe iii, His displeasure was expressed in broken sentences. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair l, The combat, which we describe in a sentence or two, lasted for many weeks in poor Amelia's heart. 1870 Jevons Elem. Logic vii. (1875) 61 What the logician calls a proposition the grammarian calls a sentence. |
b. Music. A complete idea, usually consisting of two or four phrases.
| 1891 in Century Dict. 1893 Shedlock tr. Riemann's Dict. Mus. s.v. Phrase Signs, The chief elements in Riemann's system are:..(3) The figures..showing period structure (2 for the point of stress of the first group of two measures;..8 for the point of stress of the whole sentence). |
c. Logic. A correctly ordered series of signs or symbols that expresses a proposition in an artificial or logical language.
| 1937 A. Smeaton tr. Carnap's Logical Syntax Lang. i. 26 We have already surveyed all the possible ways of constructing sentences and numerical expressions in Language I. 1957 P. Suppes Introd. Logic (1959) iii. 54 A sentence is a formula which has no free variables. 1976 Evans & McDowell Truth & Meaning p. viii, Conditions (1), (2), and (3) require that L be a logically perfect language, with sentences free from structural or lexical ambiguity. |
† 7. a. The thought or meaning expressed, as distinguished from the wording; the sense, substance, or gist (of a passage, a book, etc.).
Obs.| a 1225 Ancr. R. 348 Nimeð nu god ȝeme, vor hit is almest Seint Beornardes sentence. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 9571 Þus may þis tretice, with þe sentence, Pryk and stirre a mans conscience. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 429 As lordis of englond han the bible in freynsch, so it were not aȝenus resoun þat þey hadden þe same sentense in Engliȝsch. c 1386 Chaucer Nun's Pr. T. 345 Mulier est hominis confusio: Madame, the sentence of this latyn is, Womman is mannes Ioye and al his blis. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 27 The sentence of thys dede is, how John of synt John hathe grauntyd [etc.]. 1502 Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) i. ii. 11 Or in othir langage or wordes betokenynge the same sentence. 1519 Interl. Four Elem. (Percy Soc.) 7 Perhappis in this matter muche eloquence Sholde make it tedyous or hurt the sentence. a 1555 Latimer in Foxe A. & M. (1563) 1323/1 They..also added vnto his wordes, to alter his sentence. 1561 Maitland Club Misc. III. 284 He was sa far distant fra hyr he mycht not heyr the sentence of hyr word. |
† b. in sentence:
= ‘in substance’. Very common in Lydgate, often as a mere expletive.
Obs.| c 1412 Lydg. Reson & Sens. 515 Thow hast wel sayed, For which I wil, in sentence, That thow yive me Audience. 1421 ― Horse, Goose & Sheep 9 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems 15 Parties assemblid..Weren admitted to shewen in sentence, Ground of here quarell. c 1449 Pecock Repr. iii. viii. 322 And an other cronicler seith in sentence thus [etc.]. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xviii. 48 Gude James the Ferd..In sentens said full subtillie, ‘Do weill’, [etc.]. |
† c. In generalized use: Significance.
Obs.| c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 306 Noght o word spak he moore than was neede And that was..short and quyk and ful of hy sentence. 1402 Repl. to J. Upland in Pol. Poems (1859) II. 59 Now, Jak, to thi questions, nedes me moste answer, althouȝ thei wanten sentence and good thrift bothe. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 179 Problemys of olde likenesse and figures, Whiche proved been fructuous of sentence. 1563 Foxe A. & M. 828/2 To the xxviii. [article] he sayth as it lyeth it hath no sentence: nor he cannot vnderstande it. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxii. (Arb.) 262 Now if this disorder be in a whole clause which carieth more sentence then a word, it is then worst of all. |
† 8. Intelligence, insight, sound judgement.
Obs.| c 1400 Rule of St. Benet (Prose) xxvii. 22 On alle maner sal þabbes entirmete hir Al maner of sentence at muster til hir sep. 1513 Life Hen. V (1911) 3, I have not enterprised the compilacion of this present volume vppon noe presumpcion of witt, sentence, or cunninge of my self. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cccxcix. 692 There Phylyppe Dartuell, by great sentence, shewed them fro poynt to poynt, the ryght that they thought they had in their quarell. |
9. attrib. and
Comb., (sense 6)
sentence-accent,
sentence-building,
sentence-completion,
sentence-construction,
sentence-form,
sentence-formation,
sentence-forming,
sentence-formula,
sentence-frame,
sentence-intonation,
sentence-making,
sentence-meaning,
sentence-melody,
sentence-modifier,
sentence-monger,
sentence-pattern,
sentence-rhythm,
sentence-stress,
sentence structure,
sentence-type;
sentence-final,
sentence-forming,
sentence-initial (also
sentence-initially adv.),
sentence-modifying,
sentence-opening adjs.; (sense 3)
sentence-giving;
sentence adverb Gram., an adverb used to qualify a complete sentence (see also
quot. 1892); also
sentence adverbial;
sentence-day, the day of a trial in which the sentence is pronounced;
sentence diagram, a schematic representation of the relationships between the constituent parts of a sentence; so
sentence diagramming;
sentence-money,
silver Scots Law (see
quot. 1747);
sentence-particle Gram. (see
quot. 1953);
sentence-token Logic (see
quot. 1936);
sentence-word, a word that serves as a sentence.
| 1892 H. Sweet New Eng. Gram. I. 127 *Sentence-adverbs. The answer to the question is he here? can be either the affirmative yes or the negative no. It is evident that yes and no are sentence-modifying adverbs and at the same time sentence-words like come! John!, alas! 1916 E. A. Sonnenschein New Eng. Gram. 33 Several..adverbs..may be used to qualify the sentence as a whole; when so used they are called sentence-adverbs. Ibid., Some sentence-adverbs (especially ‘too’, ‘else’, ‘only’, ‘even’) may be used in such a way as to emphasize the word which stands next to them in the sentence. 1980 Amer. Speech 1976 LI. 168 Among the adverbs were some that are often classed together as sentence adverbs; luckily, wisely, foolishly, rightly. |
| 1964 Katz & Postal Integrated Theory of Linguistics Descriptions iv. 95 The answers to yes-no questions are in fact *sentence adverbials, i.e., yes, no, and perhaps by extension maybe, of course, certainly, etc. |
| 1921 H. E. Palmer Princ. Lang.-Study 22 Exercises exist which ensure accuracy in..*sentence-building. |
| 1966 J. Derrick Teaching Eng. to Immigrants v. 205 Other *sentence-completion exercises, in which there can be slightly more freedom of choice, can consist of ‘half sentences’ in which part or whole of the subject or predicate is missing and has to be filled in by the pupil. |
| 1921 H. E. Palmer Princ. Lang.-Study iii. 58 The learner need know little about the sciences dealing with inflexions, *sentence-construction, or meanings. |
| 1662 Tryal Sir H. Vane 51 Wednesday June 11. being the *Sentence-day. |
| 1937 Moffett & Johnson Basic Writing 509 A *sentence diagram is merely a device by which the structure of a sentence can be..shown. Ibid. 632 (Index) *Sentence diagramming. 1977 Language LIII. 493/1 The syntax section is fully and competently developed... L compares phrase-structure trees to traditional sentence diagrams, with which many students will be familiar. 1959 College Composition & Communication May 91 The question of just what ends we hope to attain by the use of any system of sentence diagraming. |
| 1949 *Sentence-final [see intonationally adv. s.v. intonation1]. 1978 Language LIV. 79 Lehmann observes that the interrogative in Japanese is marked by placing ka after verbs in sentence-final position. |
| 1930 T. Sasaki On Lang. of R. Bridges' Poetry 92 The language of poetry is in not a few points similar to primitive language, which usually favours ‘gegenständliches Denken’, and therefore prefers attributive *sentence-form. 1965 Language XLI. 372 A form that differs from any elementary sentence-form of the language. |
| 1935 G. K. Zipf Psycho-Biol. of Lang. v. 185 They [sc. substantive and verb] are not a sine qua non of *sentence-formation. |
| 1921 H. E. Palmer Princ. Lang.-Study 25 In choosing the units of our vocabulary we may be guided by..*sentence-forming utility. 1936 J. Kantor Objective Psychol. Gram. iii. xvii. 241 Those grammarians who call the verb a sentence-forming word, a phenomenon word, or an Aussagewort, also pay tribute to its action-referring character and save themselves from a too great stress of time. |
| 1932 W. L. Graff Lang. i. iii. 132 Because it [sc. How do you do?] is itself a sentence, not merely sentence material, it may be termed a *sentence formula or a formular sentence. |
| 1962 G. A. Miller in Amer. Psychologist XVII. 756/1 One opinion is that we learn ‘*sentence frames’ that we keep filed away in a sort of sentence-frame dictionary. The declarative, interrogative, affirmative, negative, active, passive, compound, complex, etc., sentence frames are all supposed to be learned separately and to have no intrinsic relation to one another. |
| 1661 Blount Glossogr. (ed. 2), Judication,..*sentence-giving. |
| 1964 Language XL. 6 Mere *sentence-initial position of Wh does not suffice to differentiate between inversion and noninversion. 1978 Ibid. LIV. 85 Sentence initial subjects in Japanese and English may be viewed as most distant from the verb. |
| 1976 Word 1971 XXVII. 302 This word is then placed *sentence-initially. |
| 1934 J. J. Hogan Outl. Eng. Philol. i. iv. 25 It [sc. the sentence] has a musical tune, *Sentence-Intonation. |
| 1870 Whitney Germ. Gramm. Suppl. 3 The main peculiarities of German *sentence-making. |
| 1945 Mind LIV. 366 The vital question ‘how separate words.. can combine to yield *sentence-meanings’ is dealt with very summarily. |
| 1922 O. Jespersen Language i. iv. 97 The heightened interest in everything concerning ‘accent’ (stress and pitch) has also led to investigations of sentence-stress and *sentence-melody. |
| 1928 H. Poutsma Gram. Late Mod. Eng. (ed. 2) I. i. v. 320 The question whether an adverbial adjunct is a *sentence-modifier or a word-modifier, is of considerable importance. |
| Ibid. i. 101 Weak do is used in connexion with *sentence-modifying not. |
| 1747 Acts of Sederunt (1790) 397 Whereas Sheriffs and stewards have at present no other legal reward, for doing their duty, than *sentence-money, which is sort of poundage out of the sums decreed for. |
| 1847 Blackw. Mag. July 46 Nor can he be simply transposed as many a decent *sentence-monger may. |
| 1962 J. Söderlind in F. Behre Contrib. Eng. Syntax 117 This is a bold type, found in *sentence-opening subject position. |
| 1934 Priebsch & Collinson German Lang. ii. xi. 445 German has one Greek characteristic which makes it neater and fuller of expressive shades than English, viz. the use of *sentence-particles (ja, doch..etc.) and their cumulations (ja doch..etc.). 1953 Trans. Philol. Soc. 1952 6 The name ‘sentence particle’ (satzpartikel) was given by Kuhn to all unstressed and weak-stressed words which modify not one part of the sentence but the whole of it, and are therefore syntactically independent parts of the sentence. |
| 1935 G. K. Zipf Psycho-Biol. of Lang. v. 201 The question of equilibrium which lies at the root of the development of all *sentence-patterns. |
| 1926 Fowler Mod. Eng. Usage 560/1 The separating adverb could have been placed outside the infinitive with little or in most cases no damage to the *sentence-rhythm. 1957 R. W. Zandvoort Handbk. Eng. Gram. vi. 239 The different word order..may be due to a desire for variety, as much as to the requirements of sentence-rhythm. |
| 1641 Sc. Acts Chas. I (1870) V. 412/2 All *sentance silver tuelve pennyes of þe pund and other exactiones imposed wpoun sentances..to be pronounced by þe saidis Judges. |
| 1884 H. Sweet in 13th Addr. Philol. Soc. 93 *Sentence-stress, intonation, and, generally speaking, the higher phonetic analysis of our dialects, are almost ignored. |
| 1872 W. Minto Eng. Prose Lit. Introd. 8 So defective were they in *sentence-structure, that [etc.]. |
| 1936 Jrnl. Philos. XXXIII. 703 A *sentence-token is a particular set of particular symbolic marks (of a sort, let us say, to represent a complete assertion). 1976 A. N. Prior Doctrine of Propositions i. 35 We may say at once that the dominant tendency in Logic is for the term ‘proposition’ to be used not for a ‘sentence-token’ but for a ‘sentence-type’. |
| 1933 L. Bloomfield Language x. 169 The use of the secondary phoneme [!] gives us the *sentence-type of exclamation. |
| 1848 C. Bunsen in Rep. Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 282 The Egyptian root is not the unalterable particle, or rather *sentence-word, of the Chinese. 1889 Mivart Orig. Hum. Reas. 260 When used by a young child (or primitive man), sentence-words require to be supplemented by gesture-signs. |
Hence
ˈsentencehood [
-hood], the condition of constituting a grammatically complete sentence.
| 1961 Language Learning XI. 175 These..are some of the requirements which one might reasonably set for an adequate theory of English ‘sentencehood’. 1967 Philos. Rev. LXXVI. 151 In many sentences ‘probable’ can replace ‘possible’ without destroying sentencehood. |
▪ II. sentence, v. (
ˈsɛntəns)
Also 7
sentense.
[ad. F. sentencier, f. sentence sentence n. Cf. med.L. sententiāre.] † 1. intr. To pass judgement.
Obs.| c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iii. v. 53 Ye haue falsely sentenced ageyne the trewe parte by cause that he was poure and made nought your purs peysen so heuy. 1592 Warner Alb. Eng. viii. xxxix. (1612) 191 Like yoong Salomon, in sentencing betwixt Two mothers. 1624 Bedell Lett. x. 130 A Breue formed to sentence for the King. 1710 Norris Chr. Prud. iii. 127 A Habit of Sentencing, as I may call it, or Determining, particularly in those things which are not defined by any Law. |
† 2. trans. To adjudge, or apportion by legal decision.
Obs.| 1616 Chapman Hesiod's Bk. Days 9 The Day, when all litigious goods, Are iustly sentenc't, by the peoples voyces. |
† 3. To decree or order judicially.
Obs.| 1502 Arnolde Chron. (1811) 158 Therfore, we may noo more doo for that [it] is sentenced vpon that reame that this enemy hath to wynne it. a 1513 Fabyan Chron. vii. (1811) 351 Lastly it was sentencyd that the barons shuld restore all suche goodes, as they & theyre company had taken. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iii. iii. 22 Let them..Inforce the present execution Of what we chance to Sentence. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 387 One example of iustice is admirable, which he sentenced on the Gouernour of Casbin. 1652 Needham tr. Selden's Mare Cl., Dom. Maris 5 That Convention was onely instituted for the execution of such things as were formerly sentenced. 1660 Trial Regic. 71 But you may see by his sentencing what he did. |
b. transf. (
nonce-use).
| 1838 D. Jerrold Men of Character (1851) 30 ‘He had better keep his bed to-day?’ asked Faddle benevolently. ‘Yes, to-day’, sentenced [Dr.] Saffron. |
† 4. To decide judicially.
Obs.| 1586 Let. to Earle Leycester 24 Forasmuch as she stood obstinately in the deniall of matter..most iustly sentenced against her. 1602 W. Fulbecke 1st Pt. Parall. 5 As well these which are determinable by the Law of Nations, as these which are sentenced by the Ciuil Law and other Lawes. 1632 Star Chamber Cases (1886) 109 This cause came to be heard and sentenced this day. 1665 J. Webb Stone-Heng (1725) 160 The matter in Debate was by the parochial Assembly sentenced at first. 1681 Heylin's De Jure Par. Episc. Pref. 2 If..any Controversie arose touching Lands or Inheritance, they sentenced it. |
† 5. To declare judicially or authoritatively. Chiefly with complement.
Obs.| a 1617 Bayne On Eph. (1658) 51 Justification doth sentence this of mee, that I am just before God. a 1619 M. Fotherby Atheom. (1622) Pref. 17 The Heathen Poet: who sentenceth all wicked, and licencious liuers, to bee no better, then a kinde of pragmaticall Atheists. 1625 Laud Serm. 19 June 18 They sinne against their owne conscience..by sentencing Good Euill, and Euill Good. 1662 Hibbert Body Divinity ii. 95 The clearness of his judgment..sentenceth the place venerable. 1680 H. More Apocal. Apoc. 211 An auspicious Title, signifying that they whose names were found there, should be sentenced worthy of eternal Life. |
† 6. To pass judgement on (a person or his actions, the merit of anything).
Obs.| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. ii. 98 After this cold considerance, sentence me. 1605 Verstegan Dec. Intell. Epist. 1, I know I..am lykest to receaue most controlement of such as are least able to sentence mee. 1642 Milton Apol. Smect. Wks. 1851 III. 251 His sufficiency must now be sentenc't, not by pondering the reason he shewes, but by calculating the yeares he brings. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas x. v. ¶4 Far from sentencing a piece on its first representation, we are jealous of its apparent merit while aided by scenic deception. |
7. To pronounce sentence upon; to condemn
to a punishment.
| 1592 Warner Alb. Eng. viii. xl. 175 He being then indighted, Was hardly found a Felon, and too stricktly sentenc'st so. 1607 Shakes. Cor. v. iv. 8 Our throats are sentenc'd, and stay vppon execution. 1634 Brereton Trav. (Chetham Soc.) 70 Slaves sentenced to the gallies. 1681 J. Flavel Right. Man's Ref. 179 Though they were sentenced to death, yea though they sentenced themselves. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 20 Dec. 1684, The offender was sentenc'd and repriev'd. a 1714 Abp. Sharp Serm. Wks. 1754 II. 94 A wretch,..being convicted of grievous crimes, and thereupon justly sentenced to suffer death for them. 1838 Thirlwall Greece xxxvii. V. 17 They sentenced Phœbidas to a fine of 10,000 drachmas. 1848 Dickens Dombey xxxiv, She was tried, and sentenced. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 566 He was hastily tried, convicted, and sentenced to be hanged. |
| transf. 1884 Browning Family 31 ‘Sole remedy is amputation’... His three sons heard their mother sentenced. 1895 Baring-Gould Noémi xxiv. (ed. 2) 339 Which had lighted up the face of the man sentenced to a living tomb. |
8. In various nonce-uses:
a. To put into sentences. Also
absol. or intr. To compose sentences.
| 1623 Lisle ælfric on O. & N. Test. To Rdr. 32 It would giue vs occasion either in wording or sentensing the principall parts thereof, to looke back a little into this outworne dialect. 1856 Ruskin Mod. Paint. III. iv. x. §22 Let a man have..a facility of rhyming or sentencing. |
b. To influence by maxims. Also
to sentence it: to speak in aphorisms.
| 1628 Feltham Resolves i. xciii. 272 Let me heare one wise man sentence it, rather then twenty Fooles, garrulous in their lengthened tattle. 1685 Gracian's Courtier's Orac. Pref., So it is as impossible by short documents to sentence them into their Wits and good Manners again. |
Hence
sentenced (
ˈsɛntənst)
ppl. a. Also
ˈsentencer, one who sentences.
| 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxiii. (Arb.) 270 He who can make the best and most differences of things by reasonable and wittie distinction is to be the fittest judge or sentencer of decencie. 1631 Heywood 2nd Pt. Fair Maid of West v. L 4, The thief is found:..I beg That I may be his sentencer. ? c 1637 Cleveland Elegy on Ben Jonson 31 When thy maim'd Statue hath a Sentenc'd Face, And Looks that are the Horror of the Place. 1659 Gauden Tears Ch. iv. xxiii. 628 It becomes not me to sentence either the sentenced, or sentencers that adjudged him to death. 1801 Southey Thalaba iv. ix, Haruth and Maruth went, The chosen Sentencers. 1813 Byron Corsair iii. x, He had brooded lone O'er promised pangs to sentenced guilt fore⁓shown. 1890 Athenæum 10 May 603/3 A friend..convinces the Home Secretary that it was the dog, not the sentenced man, who pulled the trigger and shot the victim. 1902 Westm. Gaz. 7 Feb. 2/3 It is strange that the sight of a young fellow breaking down under his sentence should excite anyone, and particularly the sentencer, to such abuse. |