sense skeleton (sensskel"eton)

The support or framework of a sense-organ, especially when hard or bony. sensibility (sen-si-bil'i-ti), n.; pl. sensibilities (-tiz). [ME. sensibilitee, Having now been exposed to the cold and the snow near an hour and a half, some of the rest began to lose their sensibility. Cook, Voyages, i. 4. There are accidental fluctuations in our inner sensibility which make it impo ible to tell just what the least discernible increment of the sensation is without taking the average of a large number of appreciations. W. James, Prin. of Psychology, I. 539. 2. Mental receptivity or susceptibility in general. We call sensibility the receptivity of our soul, or its power of receiving representations whenever it is in anywise affected. Kant, Critique of Pure Reason (tr. by Max Müller), p. 51. If my granddaughter is stupid, learning will make her conceited and insupportable; if she has talent and sensi bility, she will do as I have done-supply by addre and with sentiment what she does not know. The Century , XL. 649. 3. Specifically, the capacity of exercising or being the subject of emotion or feeling in a restricted sense; capacity for the higher or more refined feelings. 5494 Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation? Shak ., Macbeth, ii. 1. 36. Return, fair soul, from darkne , and lead mine Out of this sensible hell. Webster , Duche of Malfi, iv. 2. Wherever God will thus manifest himself, there is hea- ven, though within the circle of this sensible world. Sir T. Browne , Religio Medici, i. 49. When we take a simple sensible quality, like light or sound, and say that there is now twice or thrice as much of it present as there was a moment ago, although we seem to mean the same thing as if we were talking of compound objects, we really mean something different. W. James , Prin. of Psychology, I. 546. 2. Perceptible to the mind through observation and reflection; appreciable. The disgrace was more sensible than the pain. Sir W. Temple . IMG:content-0610.png:[blocks in formation] No sensible change has taken place during eighty years in the coral knolls [of Diego Garcia). Darwin , Coral Reefs, p. 92. 3. Capable of sensation; having the capacity of receiving impre ions from external objects; endowed with sense or sense-organs; sensitive: as, the eye is sensible to light. I would your cambric were as sensible as your finger, that you might leave pricking it for pity. Shak ., Cor., i. 3. 95. 4. Appreciative; amenable (to); influenced or capable of being influenced (by). If thou wert sensible of courtesy, I should not make so dear a show of zeal. Shak., 1 Hen. IV., v. 4. 94. 5. Very liable to impre ion from without; easily affected; highly sensitive. With affection wondrous sensible He wrung Ba anio's hand. Of a sensible nostrill. Shak., M. of V., ii. 8. 48. Milton , Areopagitica, p. 29. Macaulay , Hist. Eng., vi, 6. Perceiving or having perception either by the senses or by the intellect; aware; cogni longed to her whole nature. George Eliot, Mill on the Flo , vi. 6. 4. In a still narrower sense, peculiar susceptibility of impre ion, pleasurable or painful; unusual delicacy or keenne of feeling; quick emotion or sympathy; sensitivene : in this sense used frequently in the plural. Modesty is a kind of quick and delicate feeling in the soul; it is such an exquisite sensibility as warns a woman to shun the first appearance of everything hurtful. Add is on , Spectator. Virtue and taste are built upon the same foundation of lence to both. Goldsmith , Taste. sensibility, and cannot be disjoined without offering vio The true lawgiver ought to have a heart full of sensibility. Burke . 'Twere better to be born a stone, Of ruder shape, and feeling none, Than with a tenderne like mine, And sensibilities so fine. Cowper , Poet, Oyster, and Sensitive Plant. By sympathetic sensibility is to be understood the propensity that a man has to derive pleasure from the happine , and pain from the unhappine , of other sensitive beings. Bentham , Principles of Morals, vi. § 20. 5. The property, as in an instrument, of responding quickly to very slight changes of condition; delicacy; sensitivene (the better word in this use). [Rare.] All these instruments have the same defect, that their sensibility diminishes as the magnets grow weaker. Science, XIII. 294. 6t. Sensation. IMG:content-0611.png:[blocks in formation] Recurrent sensibility. See recurrent. = Syn. 3 and 4. Taste, Sensibility. See taste. sensible (sen'si-bl), a. and n. [Early mod. E. also sencible; Reason, vsing sense, taketh his principles and fyrst sedes of thinges sensyble, and afterwarde by his owne discourse and searching of causes encreaseth the same from a seede to a tree. R. Eden (First Books on America, ed. Arber, p. 9). In doing this I shall be sensible of two things which to me will be nothing pleasant. Milton , Apology for Smectymnuus. I am glad you are so sensible of my attention. Sheridan, The Rivals, ii. 1. Hastings, it is clear, was not sensible of the danger of his position. Macaulay, Warren Hastings. 7. Capable of responding to very slight changes of condition; sensitive (in this sense the better word): as, a sensible thermometer or balance. [Rare.] -8. Po e ing or characterized by sense, judgment, or reason; endowed with or IMG:content-0612.png:[blocks in formation] 2. That which produces sensation; that which impre es itself on the senses; something perceptible; a material substance. We may them [brutish manners) read in the creation Of this wide Sensible. Dr. H. More, Psychozoia, ii. 35. 3. That which po e es sensibility or capability of feeling; a sensitive being. This melancholy extends itself not to men only, but even Burton. to vegetals and sensibles. sensiblene (sen'si-bl-nes), n. The character or state of being sensible, in any sense of that word. sensibly (sen'si-bli), adv. In a sensible manner, in any sense of the word sensible. sensifacient (sen-si-fa's hient), a. [L. sens us, sense, + facien ( t- ) s, ppr. of facere, make: see fact.) Producing sensation; sensific. [Rare.] The epithelium may be said to be receptive, the nerve fibers transmi ive, and the sensorium sensifacient. Huxley , Science and Culture, p. 264. sensiferous (sen-sif'e-rus), a. [L. sens us , sense, + ferre = E. bear1 .] Producing or conveying sensation; acting as an organ of sense. The sense-organ, the nerve, and the sensorium, taken together, constitute the sensiferous apparatus. Huxley , Science and Culture, p. 267. The most important functions of the proboscis are of a sensiferous, tactile nature. Encyc. Brit., XVII. 327. In speaking of the antennæ and palpi, I have called them sensiferous organs. Shuckard, British Bees, p. 55. sensific (sen-sif'ik), a. [ sens us , sense, perception, + facere , make (see -fic ).] Producing, causing, or resulting in sensation. Imp. Dict. sensificatory (sen-sif en-sif'i-kā-to-ri), a. [ And, as respects the ectodermal cells which constitute the fundamental part of the organs of the special senses, it is becoming clear that the more perfect the sensory ap paratus the more completely do these sensigenous cells take on the form of delicate rods or filaments. IMG:content-0613.png:[blocks in formation] tell i gent; reasonable; judicious: as, a sensible man; a sensible proposal. a beast! O strange! Shak., Othello, No sensible person in Arrowhead village really believed in the evil eye. O. W. Holmes, A Mortal Antipathy, iv. Sensible calorict, an old term for sensible heat. - Sensible form, heat, matter. See the nouns. - Sensible horizon. See horizon, 1. - Sensible idea. Same as sen sual idea. See sensual. - Sensible note or tone, in mu sic, same as leading tone (which see, under leading1 ). Sensible perspiration, quality, etc. See the nouns. =Syn. 1 and 2. Sensible, Perceptible. Literally, these words are of about the same meaning and strength, the difference depending chiefly upon the connection; for example, a sensible difference, a perceptible difference.3 and 4. Be Sensible, Be Conscious, etc. See feell. - 3 and 7. Sensible, Sensitive, Sentient. Sensible in its first meaning was pa ive, but is now quite as often active. As active, it is both physical and mental, and is unemphatic: as, to be sensible (that is, aware) of heat or cold, of neglect or injury. Sensitive means feeling acutely, either in body or in mind. A sensible man will school himself not to be too sensitive to criticism. Sentient is a physiologically descriptive word, indicating the po e ion or use of the sense of feeling: as, the fly is a sentient being.-6. Observant, aware, conscious.-8. Sensible, Judicious, discreet, sage, sagacious, sound. As compared with judicious, sen sible means po e ing common sense, having a sound and practical reason, while judicious means discreet in choosing what to do or advise; the one applying to the understanding and judgment, the other to the judgment in its relation to the will. Sensible, Intelligent, Common-sense. As compared with intelligent, sensible means po e ed of the power to see things in their true light, the light of a correct judgment, a large, sound, roundabout sense, while intelligent means po e ed of a clear and quick understanding, so as to apprehend an idea promptly and see it in its true relations. The relation between cause and effect is here so close that intelligent often seems to mean e entially the same as well-informed. Where the sense implied sensible is thought of as peculiarly general or level to the experience, conclusions, or notions of the ma of men, common-sense is, by a new usage, sometimes employed: as, he was a common - sense person: he took a com mon sense view of the matter. All these words apply both to the person and to his opinions, words, writings, etc.