mentor

Pronunciation

• IPA: /mɑ̃.tɔʁ/^[1]
• IPA: /mɛ̃.tɔʁ/^[1]

Forms

mentor m (plural mentors)^[1]

Etymology

It is the use as a common noun of Mentor, the French form of Ancient Greek Μέντωρ (Méntōr), the friend of Odysseus in the “Odyssey” whose likeness Athena took to guide and teach Telemachus.^{[2][3][4][5][1][6]} The name, found in French from the 16th century, was made famous by Fénelon's “Aventures de Télémaque” (1699), where Minerva in Mentor's form is the young prince's tutor.^[2][3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The revised TLF dates it from Lesage's Bachelier de Salamanque (1739), where the hero is to be regarded “as a Mentor” to the young man in his charge;^[2] the older TLFi date is 1749 (Montesquieu), and Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert cite Saint-Simon early in the century.^[8][4][5]

Semantic evolution

A mentor is a wise, experienced adviser, and especially the person who guides a young man's upbringing or travels, as the abbé Prévost's dictionary defines it in 1755.^[2][3] Rousseau used it figuratively of a book (about 1770).^[9] The word is literary, and it has been officially recommended in place of the anglicism coach.^[10][11]

The old pronunciation with men-, given by the Académie in 1835, was already rejected by Littré; it is now said like main-.^[8][7]

Timeline

• 16th century – The name Mentor in French.^[2]
• 1699 – Fénelon's Télémaque.^[3][2]
• 1739 – Comme un Mentor (Lesage).^[2]
• 1749 – A common noun (Montesquieu).^[8][3]
• 1755 – First recorded in a dictionary (Prévost).^[2]
• 1762 – First recorded by the Académie.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (literary) A mentor, a wise and experienced adviser or guide: servir de mentor à quelqu'un.^[10][11]

Related words

• English mentor

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Steinfeld, Nadine; Buchi, Éva, eds. (2005–), TLF-Étym: révision des notices étymologiques du Trésor de la langue française informatisé, Nancy: ATILF
3. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b 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, 752b
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d 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
9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)