Somatosensory
/ˌsoʊ.mə.toʊˈsɛn.sə.ri/noun
Relating to the perception of sensations from the body, especially touch, temperature, pain, and position.
Did you know?The first half comes from Greek sôma, “body,” the same ancient root behind words like psychosomatic and somatic, while the second half is tied to Latin sensus, “feeling” or “perception,” making it a very literal “body-feeling” term.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Gk
sôma
“body”
Latin
Lat
sensus
“feeling, perception, sense”
19th Century
English
somatic
“of the body”
19th Century
English
sensory
“of or relating to sensation”
20th Century
English
somatosensory
“relating to bodily sensation and perception”