Etymologically
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mente

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Pronunciation

Forms

mente f (plural menti)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin mentem (“mind”), the accusative of the Latin noun.[2][3][4][1][5] DELI and DEI call it a learned word, while Nocentini counts it among the inherited words: it is pan-Romance, with Sardinian mènte, Occitan ment, Catalan ment, Spanish mente, Portuguese mente and Romanian minte.[2][6][3][5] The DÉRom reconstructs a Proto-Romance noun for both “mind” and “temple (of the head)”, the latter sense surviving in Aromanian, Corsican and Sardinian.[7]

The Latin noun goes back to Proto-Italic *mn̥ti- and Proto-Indo-European *méntis (“thought”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”).[8][1][3] Cognates are Sanskrit मति (matí, “thought”), Lithuanian mintìs (“thought, idea”) and Old Church Slavonic памѧть (pamętĭ, “memory”); the same root is in Latin meminī (“I remember”) and moneō (“to remind, warn”).[8][3][9]

Because mente in the ablative was used with adjectives to describe a manner of acting, it became the adverbial suffix -mente in Italian and most Romance languages.[5][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first dated sense is “attention of the mind”, in Giacomo da Lentini before 1250.[2] “Intelligence, intellect” follows in Brunetto Latini before 1294, and “memory” in Bonagiunta da Lucca before about 1257.[2]

Semantic evolution

Guittone d'Arezzo used the word for “good sense, reason” before 1294, and Domenico Cavalca for “intention” before 1342, in his definition of lying as speaking against one's own mind.[2] The sense “person of great intelligence” (una bella mente) is recorded by Tommaseo in 1869.[2][11]

Most of the many modern phrases rest on the sense “memory” (a mente, “by heart”, uscire di mente, “to slip one's mind”) or “thought” (venire in mente, fare mente locale).[4][11][12] The derived mentale continues Late Latin mentālis, which Saint Augustine called an absurd new word;[2][3] mentalità (1905) probably came through French mentalité.[2][3]

Timeline

  • Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses mente for attention.[2]
  • Before about 1257 – Bonagiunta da Lucca uses it for memory.[2]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it for the intellect.[2][4]
  • Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses it for intention.[2]
  • Before 1380 – Catherine of Siena uses mentale.[2]
  • 1869 – Tommaseo records it for a highly intelligent person.[2]
  • 1905 – Mentalità is recorded.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The mind, the whole of the intellectual and mental faculties, often contrasted with body or heart: Prima di decidere, schiarisciti la mente.[4][12][13]
  2. intelligence, the capacity to understand: una mente vivace.[4][13][11]
  3. A particular bent of mind: una mente matematica.[4][13]
  4. Attention, thought: Non riesco a togliermelo dalla mente.[4][11]
  5. memory: imparare a mente.[4][11]
  6. (literary) Intention, purpose.[4][11]
  7. A person of great intelligence; the person who plans an undertaking: Era lui la mente della banda.[4][13][11]

Word family

  • mentale
  • mentalità
  • mentalmente
  • mentecatto
  • rammentare
  • ammentare
  • -mente
  • menzione
  • Latin mēns

Usage notes

Common set phrases include a mente fredda (“with a cool head”), avere in mente (“to have in mind”), saltare in mente (“to occur to someone”) and fare mente locale (“to concentrate”).[4][12][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  6. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2425
  7. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
  8. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  10. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  13. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse