C. S. Lewis Use Of The Word Sense

Every year there are about four thousand words added to the English Dictionary (“30 Fun Facts”). With these new words being brought into the English language, words that seemed interesting at one time are now becoming familiar and tucked away as words already known and understood. With this in mind, it is important to learn more about the words in the English language that people do not think twice about while using. With the word sense, it first appeared in Latin and its meaning evolved throughout the years. Sense appears in the Bible, in Shakespeare’s work, and in other literary works. C.S. Lewis has also used this word and it has appeared in newspapers such as the publication Issues & Controversies. Sense has been around for a long time,

Sense can be found in one such work, Henry IV: Part II, “But, as I told my Lord of Westmoreland, the time misordered doth, in common sense, crowd us and crush us to this monstrous form” (Johnson). Shakespeare uses the phrase, “common sense” in this work. In this context, sense goes along with the word “common” to mean good understanding and sound judgement based on the situation.

Shakespeare was not the only poet to use sense in his works. The word also appears in Alfred Tennyson’s Ode on the Death of Duke Wellington: Stanza IV: “Rich in saving common-sense/ And, as the greatest only are/ In his simplicity sublime” (Bartlett). Tennyson uses sense to describe the Duke of Wellington as a wise person. From the description given in these three short lines by Tennyson, it is obvious of Tennyson’s approval and respect of the Duke of Wellington. It is obvious because of Tennyson’s description of the Duke as a simple and sensible

Sense can be found in the newspaper Issues & Controversies: “Travel Ban and Immigration: Should the United States Ban Travelers from Certain Countries?”. Under this section, sense was used thusly, “Restricting travel from countries ridden by war and extremism is a common sense national security measure” ("Travel Ban and Immigration" 1). Sense is used as common sense, meaning good understanding and sound judgement based on the situation. This sentence is stating that the restriction of the ability to travel to extremist and warring countries would be a national security measure that is smart and makes