mens
English
Etymology 1
Noun
mens
- (nonstandard, African-American Vernacular) Alternative form of men (“plural of man”).
- Obsolete form of men's.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 21:26:
- Mens hearts failing them for feare, and for looking after those things which are comming on the earth; For the powers of heauen shall be shaken.
- 1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC:
- A thousand fantasies
Begin to throng into my memory
Of calling shapes, and beckning shadows dire,
And airy tongues, that syllable mens names
On Sands, and Shoars, and desert Wildernesses.
- c. 1670s (date written), Thomas Brown [i.e., Thomas Browne], “Sect[ion] II”, in John Jeffery, editor, Christian Morals, […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] [A]t the University-Press, for Cornelius Crownfield printer to the University; and are to be sold by Mr. Knapton […]; and Mr. [John] Morphew […], published 1716, →OCLC, part II, pages 46–47:
- Bring candid Eyes unto the peruſal of mens works, and let not Zoiliſm or Detraction blaſt well intended labours.
- Misspelling of men's.
See also
Etymology 2
Noun
mens
- (Philippines, biology, colloquial) Clipping of menstruation.
See also
- mens rea (etymologically unrelated)
Anagrams
Afrikaans
Etymology
From Dutch mens, from Middle Dutch mensche, from Old Dutch mennisko, from Proto-Germanic *manniskaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mɛns/
Audio; [mẽːs]: (file)
Noun
mens (plural mense, diminutive mensie)
Pronoun
mens
- one (indefinite pronoun)
- Synonym: 'n mens
Danish
Alternative forms
- medens (dated)
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mɛns/, [mens̺]
Conjunction
mens
Related terms
References
- “mens” in Den Danske Ordbog
Dutch
Alternative forms
- mensch (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle Dutch mensche, from Old Dutch mennisko, a substantivised form of the adjective *mennisk (“human, humanlike”), from Proto-West Germanic *mannisk, from Proto-Germanic *manniskaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mɛns/
Audio: (file) - Hyphenation: mens
- Rhymes: -ɛns
Noun
mens m (plural mensen, diminutive mensje n)
- human, any member of the species Homo sapiens
- De mens is van nature een politiek dier. ― Man is by nature a political animal.
- Ik ben ook maar een mens! ― I'm only human!
- person
- Synonym: persoon
Derived terms
- aapmens
- binnenmens
- buitenmens
- dorpsmens
- godmens
- goedmens
- halfmens
- manmens
- medemens
- mensbeeld
- mensdom
- menselijk
- menselijkheid
- menseneter
- mensenhandel
- mensenmens
- mensensmokkel
- mensheid
- mensonterend
- menswaardig
- natuurmens
- oermens
- onmens
- paardmens
- plantagemens
- stadsmens
- tussenmens
- vakmens
- vrouwmens
Descendants
Noun
mens n (plural mensen, diminutive mensje n)
- (informal, derogatory) woman
- Dat mens werkt me echt op de zenuwen. ― That woman really annoys me.
Synonyms
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mɑ̃/
Audio (Canada): (file)
Verb
mens
- inflection of mentir:
- first/second-person singular present indicative
- second-person singular imperative
Ladin
Alternative forms
- mëns, meis
Etymology
Noun
mens m (plural mensc)
Latin
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Italic *mentis, from Proto-Indo-European *méntis (“thought”). Cognate with Sanskrit मति (matí), αὐτόματος (autómatos), μάντις (mántis), Russian мнить (mnitʹ, “to think”), Old English ġemynd (whence English mind), Lithuanian mintis (“thought”).[1]
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈmẽːs]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈmɛns]
Noun
mēns f (genitive mentis); third declension
- mind
- 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.39:
- “Nec venit in mentem quōrum cōnsēderis arvīs?”
- “Does it not come into [your] mind [the sort of people] whose lands you have settled?”
(Idiomatic translations vary – Mackail, 1885: “nor does it cross thy mind”; Knight, 1956: “you should remember”; Mandelbaum, 1971: “have you forgotten”; Fitzgerald, 1981: “have you considered”; Fagles, 2006: “don’t you recall”; Ahl, 2007: “aren’t you concerned about”; Bartsch, 2020: “do you forget”.)
- “Does it not come into [your] mind [the sort of people] whose lands you have settled?”
- “Nec venit in mentem quōrum cōnsēderis arvīs?”
- intellect, reason
- reasoning, judgement
- heart, conscience (seat of the thoughts and will)
- disposition
- thought, plan, purpose, intention
Usage notes
Could be combined with an adjective in an ablative absolute expressing one's state of mind or intention, as in Catullus' obstinata mente perfer "endure it with a resolute mind" or Virgil's simulata mente locutam "spoken with false purpose". In some cases the combination simply expresses the manner in which a (mental) action is performed, as in Ovid's male sit tacita mente precare viro "silently pray for misfortune to befall her husband". Eventually this became a generalized adverbial construction, with clear examples documented by at least the eighth century AD (alterā mente "otherwise", sōlā mente "only") whence the Romance adverbial suffixes of the -mente type.
Declension
Third-declension noun (i-stem).
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | mēns | mentēs |
genitive | mentis | mentium |
dative | mentī | mentibus |
accusative | mentem | mentēs mentīs |
ablative | mente | mentibus |
vocative | mēns | mentēs |
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
Nouns:
Adverbial suffixes (see usage notes above):
- Italo-Romance:
- Italian: -mente
- Gallo-Romance:
- Ibero-Romance:
References
- ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “mēns, mentis”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 372-3
Further reading
- “mens”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “mens”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- mens in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
- to attract universal attention: omnium animos or mentes in se convertere
- to free one's mind from the influences of the senses: sevocare mentem a sensibus (De Nat. D. 3. 8. 21)
- to be out of one's mind: mente captum esse, mente alienata esse
- to possess great ability: intellegentia or mente multum valere
- to grasp a thing mentally: animo, mente, cogitatione aliquid comprehendere, complecti
- something comes into my mind: mihi in mentem venit alicuius rei
- to fix all one's thoughts on an object: mentem in aliqua re defigere
- to think over, consider a thing: agitare (in) mente or (in) animo aliquid
- with the intention of..: eo consilio, ea mente, ut
- nothing will ever make me forgetful of him: semper memoria eius in (omnium) mentibus haerebit
- a man's soul breathes through his writings: alicuius mens in scriptis spirat
- to upset a person: alicuius mentem turbare, conturbare, perturbare
- to compose oneself with difficulty: mente vix constare (Tusc. 4. 17. 39)
- to be calm, self-possessed: mente consistere
- a good conscience: mens bene sibi conscia
- to be tormented by remorse: (mens scelerum furiis agitatur)
- superstition has taken possession of their souls: superstitio mentes occupavit (Verr. 4. 51. 113)
- (ambiguous) to see with the mind's eye: oculis mentis videre aliquid
- (ambiguous) to be of sane mind: mentis compotem esse
- (ambiguous) to be of sound mind: sanae mentis esse
- (ambiguous) to obscure the mental vision: mentis quasi luminibus officere (vid. sect. XIII. 6) or animo caliginem offundere
- (ambiguous) innate ideas: notiones animo (menti) insitae, innatae
- (ambiguous) to lose one's composure; to be disconcerted: de statu suo or mentis deici (Att. 16. 15)
- (ambiguous) to lose one's head, be beside oneself: sui (mentis) compotem non esse
- (ambiguous) enthusiasm: ardor, inflammatio animi, incitatio mentis, mentis vis incitatior
- to attract universal attention: omnium animos or mentes in se convertere
- “mens”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
- mens in Ramminger, Johann (16 July 2016 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016
- “mens”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
Norwegian Bokmål
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Danish mens, from older medens, from Old Norse meðan.
Conjunction
mens
See also
- medan (Nynorsk)
Etymology 2
Noun
mens m (definite singular mensen, indefinite plural mens or menser, definite plural mensene)
- short for menstruasjon (menstruation), a monthly period.
References
- “mens” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Noun
mens m (definite singular mensen, indefinite plural mensar, definite plural mensane)
- short for menstruasjon (menstruation), a monthly period.
References
- “mens” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Occitan
Etymology
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Adverb
mens
Derived terms
Old Norse
Noun
mens
- indefinite genitive singular of men
Swedish
Etymology 1
Syncopic form of medans, in turn a colloquial form of medan (“while”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmɛnːs/
- Rhymes: -ɛnːs
- Homophone: mäns
Conjunction
mens
- (colloquial) while
Etymology 2
Clipping of menstruation.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmɛnːs/
- Rhymes: -ɛnːs
- Homophone: mäns
Noun
mens c
- menstruation, period
- Synonym: menstruation
- Jag har mens
- I'm on my period
Declension
nominative | genitive | ||
---|---|---|---|
singular | indefinite | mens | mens |
definite | mensen | mensens | |
plural | indefinite | — | — |
definite | — | — |
Derived terms
See also
Etymology 3
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmeːns/
- Rhymes: -eːns
Noun
mens
References
- mens in Svensk ordbok (SO)
- mens in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
- mens in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
- Svensk MeSH
- Fula Ordboken
Tagalog
Etymology
From clipping of English menstruation or menses.
Pronunciation
- (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈmens/ [ˈmɛn̪s]
- Rhymes: -ens
- Syllabification: mens
Noun
mens (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜒᜈ᜔ᜐ᜔) (colloquial)
- menstruation; period
- Synonyms: regla, sapanahon, buwanang dalaw
Derived terms
- magkamens
- magmens
Volapük
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mens/
Noun
mens
- people
- 1940, “Pro yunanef Nedänik”, in Volapükagased pro Nedänapükans, page 30:
- Mens fidons, drinons, slipons e vobons.
- The people eat, drink, sleep and work.