consensus (2009-09-17)

Part of Speech: noun

Pronunciation: [kên-'sen-sês]

Definition: An opinion or position agreed upon by a group as a whole by unanimous or nearly unanimous agreement.

Usage: This is a word we need to work into our family conversations more since families need consensus: "I think we've reached a consensus that we will see 'Lord of the Rings' rather than 'Shrek 2' tonight, right?" However, keep in mind that a consensus may be a convergence of things other than opinions, "The consensus of all the testimony supported the charge that Jarvis did, in fact, switch the signs on the men's and women's restrooms, which led the jury to reach a quick consensus itself."

Suggested Usage: The traditional bugaboo with today's word is the redundant phrase "consensus of opinion," which seems to mean "an opinion (…) of opinion," a redundant expression if taken literally. However, redundancy is, in fact, the life-blood of language, found commonly in emphatic statements (especially very, very, very emphatic ones), so redundancy is a weak argument for ridding the language of verbal expressions. Plural? Nothing funny here, simply "consensuses."

Etymology: Today's word looks suspiciously similar to the Latin word "consensus," the past participle of consentire "to agree," composed of con "with, together" + sentire "to feel," i.e. "to feel together as one, to feel the same." They must be related. The root of "sentire" is also found in English "send" from Old English sendan "to send" from Germanic *sandjan "to make move out, go." The words "scent," "sense," "sentence," "sentiment"—all come from Latin sentire "to feel," from the sense "to move mentally or spiritually." The semantic relation here is similar to English sense of "moving," as in "a moving experience," which also connects the idea of moving with feelings.