According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the adjective "sentimental" came into use in the middle of the 18th Century, meaning "characterized by sentiment," or "affected by or showing emotion rather than reason." By the end of that century, the word was already being used as a pejorative, as in "sentimentality" ("exaggerated or superficial sensitivity") and "sentimentalist" (a person cultivating or affecting sentimentality; a holder of sentimental ideas.")