A feeling or emotion, especially one that influences your opinions. It can also mean a general attitude or opinion shared by a group of people.
From Old French 'sentiment', from Latin 'sentire' meaning 'to feel'. It originally referred to both physical and mental feelings, then narrowed toward emotional and opinion-based meanings.
When economists talk about 'market sentiment', they’re basically saying 'how the market feels today'. The word shows how tightly feelings and opinions are linked—what people 'feel' often becomes what they 'think'.
Historically, 'sentiment' and 'sentimental' were associated with femininity and contrasted with 'reason', coded as masculine. Women's writing and political views were often dismissed as mere 'sentiment' rather than serious argument, contributing to their exclusion from public life.
Apply 'sentiment' neutrally across genders, and distinguish between emotional tone and the validity or rigor of a person's views.
["emotional tone","affective stance","opinion","view"]
Women's political and literary contributions were frequently labeled as 'sentiment' to sideline their impact; when discussing historical debates, name women thinkers and treat their arguments as substantive, not merely emotional.
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