"M" Word Origins

memento

Latin

From Latin mementō ("remember!"), the imperative form of meminī ("to remember").

memento mori

Latin

Latin, literally 'remember that you must die', from memento 'remember' and mori 'to die'.

memo

Origin

A shortened form of "memorandum."

memoir

Latin

Borrowed from French mémoire ("memory, account"), ultimately from Latin memoria.

memorabilia

Latin

Borrowed from Latin memorābilia, literally "things worth remembering."

memorable

Latin

From Latin memorābilis, from memorāre ("to bring to mind"), related to memor ("mindful").

memorandum

Latin

A learned borrowing from Latin memorandum, meaning "(something) to be remembered."

memorate

Origin

From Latin memorātus, past participle of memorāre (“to bring to remembrance, mention, recount”), from memor (“remembering”); see memory.

memorial

Late Latin

From Late Latin memoriale, built on the same root as memory.

memorialisation

Origin

From memorial + -isation.

memorialise

Origin

From memorial + -ise.

memory

Latin

From Old French memoire, from Latin memoria ("remembrance"), from memor ("mindful, remembering").

Memphis

Latin

From Latin Memphis, from Ancient Greek Μέμφις (Mémphis), from Egyptian mn-nfr.

memsahib

Origin

A blend of "ma'am" and "sahib" (a respectful Indian term for a man of authority).

men

Old English

From Old English menn, the plural of man, going back to a Proto-Germanic root shared with German Männer and Swedish män.

menace

Late Latin

From Old French menace, from Late Latin minācia ("threat"), from Latin mināx ("threatening").

menagerie

French

From French ménagerie, from ménager ("to keep house") — originally covering the care of household animals before narrowing to mean a collection of wild ones.

menarche

Origin

First attested 1900, from German Menarche, formed from meno- + -arche.

mencius

Origin

From Latin Mencius, from Mandarin Chinese 孟子 (Mèngzǐ).

mend

Latin

A shortened form of Middle English amenden ("to correct, improve, cure"), from Old French amender, from Latin ēmendāre — literally "to remove a fault," from ex- ("out") plus mendum ("fault, defect").

mendacity

Origin

From Late Latin mendacitas, from Latin mendāx (“deceitful, deceptive, lying”) + -itās (suffix forming nouns indicating a state of being). Mendāx is derived from mentior (“to deceive, lie”) (from mēns, mentis (“mind; intellect; judgment, reasoning”), from Proto-Indo-European *méntis (“thought”)) + -āx (suffix forming adjectives expressing a tendency or inclination), or from Proto-Indo-European *mend- (“to fault”). By surface analysis, Latin mendāc- + -ity.

Mendel

Old Spanish

* As a south German surname, variant of Meindl, from a pet form of Mein. * As a Jewish given name, from the Yiddish personal name מענדל (Mendl), a diminutive form of מאַן (man, “man”), an affectionate form of מנחם (m'nachém), or ultimately from Old Spanish Mendes through Ladino.

Mendes

Origin

Ancient Greek Μένδης (Méndēs)

Mendez

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Méndez.

mendicancy

Origin

From mendicant + -cy.

mendicant

Latin

From Latin mendicare 'to beg', from mendicus 'beggar'.

mendicity

Origin

From Old French mendicité, from Latin mendicitas.

Mendoza

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Mendoza, from Basque Mendoza.

mends

Origin

From mend (noun, verb) + -s (suffix forming pluralia tantum, regular plurals of nouns, and the third-person singular indicative present tense of verbs).

Menelaus

Latin

From Latin Menelāus, from Ancient Greek Μενέλαος (Menélaos).

Menendez

Spanish

From Spanish Menéndez.

Meng

German

From non-English surnames: * From Khmer មេង (meing) * From Mandarin 孟 (Mèng). * From German Meng

menhir

Origin

PIE word *méǵh₂s Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂sder.? Proto-Celtic *maginos Proto-Brythonic *maɣɨnder. Breton maen Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-ró-s Proto-Celtic *sīros Proto-Brythonic *hirder. Breton hir Breton maen-hirbor. French menhirbor. English menhir Either borrowed from French menhir, or from its etymon Breton maen-hir, compound of maen (“stone”) + hir (“long”). Compare with Welsh maen hir, and Cornish men hir.

menial

Latin

From Anglo-Norman mesnal, from maisnee ("household"), ultimately from Latin mānsiō ("house") — the same root that gives us "mansion."

meningitis

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek mēninx ("membrane") plus the medical suffix -itis ("inflammation").

meniscus

Greek

From Greek mēniskos 'crescent', a diminutive of mēnē 'moon'.

menma

Origin

Borrowed from Japanese メンマ (menma), blend of ramen + machiku.

mennish

Origin

* Modern uses are probably men + -ish. * Older ones may be from Middle English mennish (“human”), from Old English mennisċ, from Proto-West Germanic *mannisk, from Proto-Germanic *manniskaz, from Proto-Germanic *mann- (“person, human”), from Proto-Indo-European *mon- or *men-. By surface analysis, man + -ish. Doublet of mannish, mense, and mensch.

Menon

Origin

Borrowed from Malayalam മേനോൻ (mēnōṉ).

menopause

French

From French ménopause, built from Greek mēn ("month") and pausis ("pause, stopping") — literally "the stopping of the months."

menorah

Hebrew

Borrowed from Hebrew menorah ("lamp stand"), from a Semitic root meaning "light" — the same root behind the word "minaret."

Mensa

Latin

From Latin mensa, meaning "table" — the same word used for the flat table-like altar top and, by extension, for flat-topped landforms.

mensal

Origin

From Latin mensis (“month”).

mensch

German

From Yiddish mentsh ("an honourable person"), ultimately from Old High German mennisko ("human being").

mense

Origin

From earlier mensk, from Middle English menske (“courtesy, honour”), from Old English mennisċu (“the human condition, humanity”) and/or Old Norse menska (“humanity”). More at mennish, mensch.

menshevik

Origin

Borrowed from Russian меньшеви́к (menʹševík), derived from меньшинство́ (menʹšinstvó, “minority”), formed in turn from Russian ме́ньше (ménʹše), the comparative of ма́лый (mályj, “little”).

menstrual

Latin

From Latin mēnstruālis, from mēnsis ("month") — the same root as "menstruation" and, more distantly, "moon."

menstruation

Latin

From Latin menstruus ("monthly"), from mēnsis ("month").