'sentient-seeming' originates from English as a compound of the adjective 'sentient' and the participial adjective 'seeming'. 'sentient' ultimately comes from Latin 'sentire' (via French/Latin participial forms), where 'sentire' meant 'to feel'. 'seeming' derives from Old English/Middle English forms of 'seem', originally meaning 'to appear' or 'to be fitting'.

'sentient' comes from Latin 'sentire' → Late Latin/Old French participial/adjectival forms → Middle English 'sentient' → modern English 'sentient'. 'seeming' comes from Old English/Middle English 'seam'/'semen' → Middle English 'seem' → modern English 'seeming'; the compound 'sentient-seeming' is a modern English formation combining these elements to express 'appearing sentient'.

Initially the roots meant 'to feel' (from Latin) and 'to appear' (from Old/Middle English); over time the compound has come to mean specifically 'appearing to possess feeling or consciousness' rather than asserting genuine sentience.