Etymologically
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mention

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈmen.ʃᵊn/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English mencioun,[2][3] borrowed from Old French mencion (“mention, memory, speech”),[2][4] from Latin mentiō (“a calling to mind, a speaking of”) (accusative mentiōnem),[2][4] from the root of Old Latin miniscī (“to think”), related to mēns (“mind”) (genitive mentis),[2][4] from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”).[2] It is related to mind, mental and comment.[4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bearing in mind, consideration: about 1300, now obsolete.[7] Etymonline dates the noun to about 1300 as a note, reference or calling to mind by speech or writing,[2] and the OED's “commemorating by speech or writing” is from 1303.[7] The early use was in the phrase make mention of.[6]

Semantic evolution

A statement about a person or thing is from the late 15th century, and by the mid-18th century it had weakened to an incidental or casual reference,[2] though in the army a mention in dispatches, from 1915 in the OED, remained an important distinction.[2][7] Honourable mention is from 1892.[7] The verb, “to speak of briefly”, is from 1530, in Palsgrave,[4][7][3] from the noun or from French mentionner.[2][4] Not to mention as a rhetorical device is from the 1690s, and don't mention it as a reply to thanks or apology from 1840.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – consideration; a calling to mind.[7][2]
  • late 15th century – a statement.[2]
  • 1530 – verb.[4][7]
  • mid-18th century – a casual reference.[2]
  • 1690s – not to mention.[2]
  • 1840 – don't mention it.[2]
  • 1892 – honourable mention.[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To refer to briefly or incidentally.
  2. To name, especially as worthy of credit.

Noun

  1. A brief or casual reference; an allusion.
  2. A formal citation for merit: an honourable mention.

Word family

  • mentionable
  • mentioner
  • remention
  • intermention
  • honorable mention

Usage notes

In Shetland dialect a mention was a trifle or little bit.[8]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)