Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Sensible \Sen"si*ble\, a. [F., fr. L. sensibilis, fr. sensus
sense.]
1. Capable of being perceived by the senses; apprehensible
through the bodily organs; hence, also, perceptible to the
mind; making an impression upon the sense, reason, or
understanding; ?????? heat; sensible resistance.
Air is sensible to the touch by its motion.
--Arbuthnot.
The disgrace was more sensible than the pain. --Sir
W. Temple.
Any very sensible effect upon the prices of things.
--A. Smith.
2. Having the capacity of receiving impressions from external
objects; capable of perceiving by the instrumentality of
the proper organs; liable to be affected physsically or
mentally; impressible.
Would your cambric were sensible as your finger.
--Shak.
3. Hence: Liable to impression from without; easily affected;
having nice perception or acute feeling; sensitive; also,
readily moved or affected by natural agents; delicate; as,
a sensible thermometer. ``With affection wondrous
sensible.'' --Shak.
4. Perceiving or having perception, either by the senses or
the mind; cognizant; perceiving so clearly as to be
convinced; satisfied; persuaded.
He [man] can not think at any time, waking or
sleeping, without being sensible of it. --Locke.
They are now sensible it would have been better to
comply than to refuse. --Addison.
5. Having moral perception; capable of being affected by
moral good or evil.
6. Possessing or containing sense or reason; giftedwith, or
characterized by, good or common sense; intelligent; wise.
Now a sensible man, by and by a fool. --Shak.
{Sensible note} or {tone} (Mus.), the major seventh note of
any scale; -- so called because, being but a half step
below the octave, or key tone, and naturally leading up to
that, it makes the ear sensible of its approaching sound.
Called also the {leading tone}.
{Sensible horizon}. See {Horizon}, n., 2.
(a) .
Syn: Intelligent; wise.
Usage: {Sensible}, {Intelligent}. We call a man sensible
whose judgments and conduct are marked and governed by
sound judgment or good common semse. We call one
intelligent who is quick and clear in his
understanding, i. e., who discriminates readily and
nicely in respect to difficult and important
distinction. The sphere of the sensible man lies in
matters of practical concern; of the intelligent man,
in subjects of intellectual interest. ``I have been
tired with accounts from sensible men, furnished with
matters of fact which have happened within their own
knowledge.'' --Addison. ``Trace out numerous footsteps
. . . of a most wise and intelligent architect
throughout all this stupendous fabric.'' --Woodward.
Horizon \Ho*ri"zon\, n. [F., fr. L. horizon, fr. Gr. ? (sc. ?)
the bounding line, horizon, fr. ? to bound, fr. ? boundary,
limit.]
1. The circle which bounds that part of the earth's surface
visible to a spectator from a given point; the apparent
junction of the earth and sky.
And when the morning sun shall raise his car Above
the border of this horizon. --Shak.
All the horizon round Invested with bright rays.
--Milton.
2. (Astron.)
(a) A plane passing through the eye of the spectator and
at right angles to the vertical at a given place; a
plane tangent to the earth's surface at that place;
called distinctively the sensible horizon.
(b) A plane parallel to the sensible horizon of a place,
and passing through the earth's center; -- called also
{rational or celestial horizon}.
(c) (Naut.) The unbroken line separating sky and water, as
seen by an eye at a given elevation, no land being
visible.
3. (Geol.) The epoch or time during which a deposit was made.
The strata all over the earth, which were formed at
the same time, are said to belong to the same
geological horizon. --Le Conte.
4. (Painting) The chief horizontal line in a picture of any
sort, which determines in the picture the height of the
eye of the spectator; in an extended landscape, the
representation of the natural horizon corresponds with
this line.
{Apparent horizon}. See under {Apparent}.
{Artificial horizon}, a level mirror, as the surface of
mercury in a shallow vessel, or a plane reflector adjusted
to the true level artificially; -- used chiefly with the
sextant for observing the double altitude of a celestial
body.
{Celestial horizon}. (Astron.) See def. 2, above.
{Dip of the horizon} (Astron.), the vertical angle between
the sensible horizon and a line to the visible horizon,
the latter always being below the former.
{Rational horizon}, and {Sensible horizon}. (Astron.) See
def. 2, above.
{Visible horizon}. See definitions 1 and 2, above.
Source : WordNet®
sensible horizon
n : the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet [syn: {horizon},
{apparent horizon}, {visible horizon}, {skyline}]