path-sensitive
|path-sen-si-tive|
🇺🇸
/ˈpæθˈsɛnsɪtɪv/
🇬🇧
/ˈpɑːθˈsɛnsɪtɪv/
sensitive to the specific path taken
Etymology
'path-sensitive' originates from Modern English as a compound of 'path' and 'sensitive', where 'path' refers to a course or track and 'sensitive' means 'responsive to' or 'affected by'.
'path' comes from Old English 'pæð' (meaning 'way, track'), ultimately from Proto-Germanic roots; 'sensitive' derives from Latin 'sensitivus' from 'sentire' ('to feel'). The compound form arose in technical/analytical English by combining these elements to mean 'sensitive to paths'.
Individually, 'path' originally meant a physical way and 'sensitive' meant 'able to feel'; in the compound 'path-sensitive' the meaning evolved to the technical sense 'responsive to or distinguishing different (execution/control) paths'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
in program analysis or related fields, describes an analysis or method that distinguishes different execution/control-flow paths and accounts for their separate effects (i.e., behavior depends on which path is taken).
The static analyzer is path-sensitive and can find bugs that occur only on specific execution paths.
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Last updated: 2025/11/19 11:49