mensk
See also: Mensk
Middle English
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Old Norse mennskr (“human”), from Proto-Germanic *manniskaz (“human”). Cognate with Old English mennisċ (“human”); more at mennish.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmɛnsk(ə)/
Adjective
mensk
- (rare) honorable, praiseworthy; beautiful
- c. 1335-1361, William of Palerne (MS. King's College 13), folio 62, recto, lines 3900-3901; republished as W. W. Skeat, editor, The Romance of William of Palerne[1], London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1867, →OCLC, page 126:
- ⁊ more menſk it is · manliche to deie / þan for to fle couwarli for ouȝt þat mai falle
- More honorable it is / manly to die / than to flee cowardly for aught that may fall [that is, for anything that may happen].
Descendants
References
- “mensk(e, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 2
Noun
mensk
- alternative form of menske
Etymology 3
Verb
mensk
- alternative form of mensken
- c. 1385, William Langland, Piers Plowman, section III:
- Ȝit I may as I myȝte · menske þe with ȝiftes / And mayntene þi manhode · more þan þow knoweste.
- Yet I may, as I might, honour thee with gifts and maintain thy manhood more than thou knowest.
- c. 1425, Northern Homily Cycle:
- It sall ger hir be ful fain / To mensk oure goddes with al hir main.
- Her harvest shall be very pleasing / To honour our goddess with all her power.
North Frisian
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old Frisian menniska, from Proto-West Germanic *mannisk, from Proto-Germanic *manniskaz.
Noun
mensk m (plural mensken)