Sĕn′tençe1, n.
n. [Fr. sentence, Pr. sententia, sentensa, Sp. sentencia, It. sentenzia, sentenza, Lat. sententia, for sentientia, from sentire, to discern by the senses and the mind, to feel, to think.]
Sense 1. An opinion; a decision; especially, a philosophical or theological opinion; a dogma.
My sentence is for open war. Milton.
Sense 2. (Law.) In the civil and admiralty law, the judgment of a court pronounced in a cause; in the common law, a judgment passed on a criminal by a court or judge; condemnation pronounced by a judge; doom. The term is exclusively used in the common law to denote the judgment in criminal cases. Warton. Burrill.
Sense 3. Sense; meaning; significance. [Obs. and rare.]
“The discourse itself, voluble enough, and full of sentence.” Milton.
Sense 4. A short saying containing moral instruction; a maxim; an axiom. Broome.
Sense 5. (Gram.) A combination of words, which is complete as expressing a thought, and in writing, is marked at the close by a full point.
Sentences are simple or compound. A simple sentence consists of one subject and one finite verb; as, “The Lord reigns.” A compound sentence contains two or more subjects and finite verbs, as in this verse:—
He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all. Pope.
— Dark sentence, a saying not easily explained.