five senses
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The five senses are feeling, hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “five senses” mean?
The five senses are feeling, hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting.
Is “five senses” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.