Etymologically
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mentior

Etymology and origin of the Latin word mentior

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (mēns)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈmɛn.ti.ɔr][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmɛn.t͡si.or][1]

Forms

mentior (present infinitive mentīrī or mentīrier, perfect active mentītus sum); fourth conjugation, deponent[1] The present participle is sometimes passive in sense.[2]

Etymology

It is from mēns “mind”, stem ⟨ment-⟩, from Proto-Indo-European *méntis, from the root Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”).[2][1] Wiktionary explains the sense “to lie” from “to be inventive”, as in comminīscor “to invent”.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of telling a lie.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant to tell a falsehood, lie, as in Plautus, and in Catullus to promise falsely.[2] In Sallust it meant to misrepresent, disguise, in Pliny the Elder to invent, fabricate, and in Ovid to feign, simulate.[2]

It survives in Italian mentire, French, Spanish and Portuguese mentir, and Romanian minți.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of lying.[2][3]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses it of false promises.[2][3]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of feigning.[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To lie.[2]
  2. To promise falsely.[2]
  3. To misrepresent; to disguise.[2]
  4. To invent, fabricate.[2]
  5. To feign.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Mentior.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/mentior. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·