The article on Memory Alpha (which is written from the perspective that Star Trek is reality) suggests otherwise: it implies that ‘sentient’ was not used in this way in the original series, but we’ve seen examples already on this thread that predate The Next Generation.
However, that article is still a good reference on the meanings that might be nice to point out to sci-fi fans.
I think “Star Trek” may be responsible for this common word “misuse”.
The article on Memory Alpha (which is written from the perspective that Star Trek is reality) suggests otherwise: it implies that ‘sentient’ was not used in this way in the original series, but we’ve seen examples already on this thread that predate The Next Generation.
However, that article is still a good reference on the meanings that might be nice to point out to sci-fi fans.