height-sensitive
|height-sen-si-tive|
🇺🇸
/ˈhaɪtˌsɛnsətɪv/
🇬🇧
/ˈhaɪtˌsɛnsɪtɪv/
affected by height
Etymology
'height-sensitive' is a modern English compound formed from 'height' + 'sensitive'. 'height' (Old English 'hēahthu'/'heah') meant 'highness', and 'sensitive' comes from Latin 'sensitivus' (from 'sentire', 'to feel').
'height' derives from Old English words such as 'hēah'/'hēahthu' (related to Proto-Germanic *hauhuz) meaning 'high' or 'height'; 'sensitive' entered English via Late Latin/Old French ('sensitivus' → Old French 'sensible'/'sensitif') and Middle English, and the two elements were later combined in modern English to form the descriptive compound 'height-sensitive'.
Individually, 'height' originally meant 'highness' and 'sensitive' meant 'capable of feeling'; combined in modern usage they specifically mean 'affected by or responsive to height'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
noun form: the degree to which something is affected by height; sensitivity to changes in height.
The engineers tested the device's height-sensitivity across different altitudes.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adjective 1
affected by or responsive to changes in height; whose behavior, measurement, or functioning depends on vertical position (altitude).
The pressure sensor is height-sensitive and must be recalibrated for high-altitude use.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adverb 1
in a manner that is affected by or responsive to height.
The instrument responded height-sensitively to the changes in altitude during the test.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/11 12:44