English

Noun

mentum ‎(plural menta)

1. (anatomy) The chin.
2. (malacology) A chin-like projection below the mouth of certain mollusks.

Derived terms

• mentoplasty
• submentum
• mentalis

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *ment- ‎(“to chew; jaw, mouth”). Cognate with English mouth, Ancient Greek μάσταξ ‎(mástax, “jaws, mouth”) and μασάομαι ‎(masáomai, “to chew”), Albanian mjekër ‎(“chin, beard”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈmen.tum/, /ˈmen.tũ/

Noun

mentum n ‎(genitive mentī); second declension

1. chin
2. beard

Inflection

Second declension.

Descendants

• English: mentum
• Italian: mento
• Vulgar Latin: *mentō, *mentōnem
  • Catalan: mentó
  • Old French: menton, mentun
    • French: menton
  • Occitan: menton
  • Spanish: mentón

References

• mentum in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• mentum in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• MENTUM in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “mentum”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) to see with the mind's eye: oculis mentis videre aliquid
    
  • (ambiguous) to be of sane mind: mentis compotem esse
    
  • (ambiguous) to be of sound mind: sanae mentis esse
    
  • (ambiguous) to obscure the mental vision: mentis quasi luminibus officere (vid. sect. XIII. 6) or animo caliginem offundere
    
  • (ambiguous) innate ideas: notiones animo (menti) insitae, innatae
    
  • (ambiguous) to lose one's composure; to be disconcerted: de statu suo or mentis deici (Att. 16. 15)
    
  • (ambiguous) to lose one's head, be beside oneself: sui (mentis) compotem non esse
    
  • (ambiguous) enthusiasm: ardor, inflammatio animi, incitatio mentis, mentis vis incitatior