LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

menta

menta f (genitive mentae)
Classical[ˈmɛn.ta]Ecclesiastical[ˈmɛn.ta]

Meaning

  1. femininethe mint (plant)
    an tibi quondam femineos artus in olentes vertere mentas,[…]8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 10.729

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

herba viridis, quae suāviter olet
menta -ae (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 16

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativementamentae
genitivementaementārum
dativementaementīs
accusativementammentās
ablativementāmentīs
vocativementamentae

menta (mentha), ae, f., = μίντη,
I. mint, acc. to the myth, so called from Menthe or Minthe, a nymph who was changed by Proserpine into this plant, Ov. M. 10, 729; 8, 663; Plin. 19, 8, 47, § 159: ructatrix, Mart. 10, 48, 10: serpens, Col. poët. 10, 119. —Prov.: decimatis mentham et rutam et omne olus, et praeteritis judicium, i. e. carefully attend to trifles and neglect weighty matters, Vulg. Luc. 11, 42; id. Matt. 23, 23.

Origins

Perhaps a loan-word, possibly through Ancient Greek μῐ́νθη (mĭ́nthē), from an extinct (substrate) Mediterranean/south European language. See Armenian մանդակ (mandak) for more.

Elsewhere
  • Catalanmenta
  • Italianmenta
  • Portuguesementa
  • Spanishmenta
  • Cimbrianmenta
  • Galicianmenta
  • Greekμέντα
  • Hungarianmenta
  • Irishmiontasfrom Old Irish minntus
  • Proto-Slavic*męta
Old French
  • Frenchmenthe
  • Romanianmentăfrom French menthe
  • Haitian Creolemantfrom French menthe
  • Mauritian Creolelamantfrom French menthe
  • Normanmenthe

Quick answers

What does menta mean in Latin?
menta, a noun, means “the mint (plant)”.
What is the genitive of menta?
The genitive singular is mentae. menta is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce menta?
In classical Latin, [ˈmɛn.ta]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈmɛn.ta].