PEN'SIVE, adjective [Latin penso, to weigh, to consider; pendo, to weigh.] 1. Literally, thoughtful; employed in serious study or reflection; but it often implies some degree of sorrow, anxiety, depression or gloom of mind; thoughtful and sad, or sorrowful. Anxious cares the pensive nymph oppress'd. 2. Expressing thoughtfulness with sadness; as pensive numbers; pensive strains.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI