mentir

Pronunciation

• IPA: /mɑ̃.tiʁ/^[1]

Forms

mentir^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin mentīre, for classical mentīrī (“to lie; to invent, feign”), from mēns (“mind”).^{[2][3][4][5][1][6]} Rey thinks the first sense of the Latin verb was probably “to imagine, invent”, and that “not to tell the truth” came by understatement, Littré too explains it as “to imagine”.^[3][7] “Mēns” belongs to the Indo-European root “*men-” “to think”, also seen in mental and mémoire.^[8]

Cognate with Italian mentire, Old Occitan mentir, Spanish mentir and Romanian minți.^[8][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Passion de Clermont (late 10th century) Christ is called li bons qui non mentid, “the good one who never broke his word”: the first sense is to fail to keep one's word.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

That sense lived on in bon sang ne peut mentir (about 1150 in an old form; 1611) and faire mentir le proverbe (1690).^[3][9] The modern sense, to assert as true what one knows to be false, is in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100): cuivert paien, vus i avez mentit.^[2][7] Chrétien de Troyes uses it figuratively of the eyes (about 1170), and sans mentir “truly” dates from about 1160.^[2][3] Il ment comme il respire (1921) comes from an 1852 phrase, se mentir “to deceive oneself” is from 1838.^[3] In Old French a thing that failed to work was said to mentir.^[3]

Timeline

• Late 10th century – “To break one's word”, Passion de Clermont.^[2]
• c. 1100 – “To lie”, Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• c. 1135 – Menteresse.^[3]
• 1155 – Menteur.^[3]
• c. 1160 – Sans mentir.^[9]
• 1690 – Faire mentir le proverbe.^[9]
• 1921 – Il ment comme il respire.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To lie, tell lies: tu mens!, mentir à quelqu'un.^[8][1]
2. Sans mentir: truly, honestly.^[8][7]
3. Faire mentir: to prove wrong: faire mentir le proverbe.^[9][10]
4. Se mentir: to fool oneself.^[3]
5. Set phrases: mentir comme un arracheur de dents, to lie through one's teeth, à beau mentir qui vient de loin.^[8][9]

Word family

• menteur
• menterie
• démentir
• démenti

Related words

• mensonge
• mental
• Latin mentior

Usage notes

Le mentir, the infinitive used as a noun (Montaigne: le mentir est un maudit vice), has been replaced by mensonge.^[7][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 741b
7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF