mentalité

Forms

mentalité f (plural mentalités)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French mental + -ité, probably under the influence of English.^[2][3][1] Rey describes it as a word proposed in 1842 by Richard de Radonvilliers that was then influenced by the English word, itself a 17th-century derivative of mental, which English had taken from French.^[4] The TLFi and Bloch–Wartburg instead treat it as borrowed from English mentality (recorded since 1691).^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Richard de Radonvilliers gives it in 1842 in the abstract sense “the quality of being mental”.^[5][4][7]

Semantic evolution

The sense “mental state” is recorded in 1877, in the review La Philosophie positive.^[5][4] At the end of the 19th century the word spread through the international vocabulary of the human sciences, for the habits of thought and feeling shared by a people or group.^[5][4][6]

Its use in everyday language was at first criticized, as Proust and Jaurès show.^[5][4] In familiar use it came to mean someone's attitude of mind, as in mauvaise mentalité.^[4] In slang it meant loyalty to the rules of the underworld, and so an honest, loyal attitude, a sense in vogue from the 1930s until the late 20th century.^[4]

Timeline

• 1691 – English mentality is recorded.^[5][4]
• 1842 – Richard de Radonvilliers records mentalité “quality of what is mental”.^[5][4]
• 1877 – La Philosophie positive uses it for a “mental state”.^[5][7]
• Late 19th century – It spreads in the vocabulary of the human sciences.^[5][4]
• 1930s – Underworld slang uses it for loyalty to the code of the milieu.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (sociology) The set of beliefs and habits of mind shared by the members of a community, as in l'histoire des mentalités.^[3][5]
2. A person's state of mind or moral disposition: une mentalité de gagnant.^[3][7]
3. (slang, dated) Loyalty to the rules of the underworld, an honest and loyal attitude.^[4]

Related words

• mental
• English mentality

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse