c.1374,
sentement, "personal experience, one's own feeling," from O.Fr.
sentement (12c.), from M.L.
sentimentum "feeling, affection, opinion," from L.
sentire "to feel" (see
sense). Meaning "what one feels about something" (1639) and modern spelling seem to be a re-introduction from Fr. (where it was spelled
sentiment by this time). A vogue word with wide application mid-18c., commonly "a thought colored by or proceeding from emotion" (1762), especially as expressed in literature or art. The 17c. sense is preserved in phrases such as
my sentiments exactly.
[sen-tuh-muh
nt] 