verbfourth conjugation, deponent
mentior
mentior (present infinitive mentīrī or mentīrier, perfect active mentītus sum)
Classical[ˈmɛn.ti.ɔr]Ecclesiastical[ˈmɛn.t͡si.or]
Mille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- deponentwith dativeto lie, cheat, deceive
Cur es ausus mentiri mihi?
Why did you dare to lie to me?c. 200 BCE – 190 BCE, Plautus, Captivi 3.5.46 - deponentto pretend, feign
et assentandum est quicquid hic mentibitur.
and I have to agree with whatever lies he dishes up. (literally, “and whatever he feigns must be agreed (with)”)c. 206 BCE, Plautus, Miles Gloriosus 35
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
falsum dīcō vel mē alium esse fingō; quī mentītur, fidem perdit.mentior -īrī mentītus — in Mille Verba, Theātrum
falsum dīcō, nōn vērummentior -īrī — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 3, 26
Conjugation conjugation 4 deponent
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | mentior | mentiēbar mentībar | mentiar mentībor | — | — | — |
| 2nd sg. | mentīris mentīre | mentiēbāris mentiēbāre, mentībāris, mentībāre | mentiēris mentiēre, mentīberis, mentībere | — | — | — |
| 3rd sg. | mentītur | mentiēbātur mentībātur | mentiētur mentībitur | — | — | — |
| 1st pl. | mentīmur | mentiēbāmur mentībāmur | mentiēmur mentībimur | — | — | — |
| 2nd pl. | mentīminī | mentiēbāminī mentībāminī | mentiēminī mentībiminī | — | — | — |
| 3rd pl. | mentiuntur | mentiēbantur mentībantur | mentientur mentībuntur | — | — | — |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | mentiar | mentīrer | — | — |
| 2nd sg. | mentiāris mentiāre | mentīrēris mentīrēre | — | — |
| 3rd sg. | mentiātur | mentīrētur | — | — |
| 1st pl. | mentiāmur | mentīrēmur | — | — |
| 2nd pl. | mentiāminī | mentīrēminī | — | — |
| 3rd pl. | mentiantur | mentīrentur | — | — |
imperative
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| pres. 2nd sg. | mentīre | — |
| pres. 2nd pl. | mentīminī | — |
| fut. 2nd sg. | mentītor | — |
| fut. 3rd sg. | mentītor | — |
| fut. 3rd pl. | mentiuntor | — |
infinitives & participles
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | mentīrī mentīrier | — |
| perfect infinitive | mentītum esse | — |
| future infinitive | mentītūrum esse | — |
| present participle | mentiēns | — |
| perfect participle | mentītus mentīta, mentītā, mentītae, mentītam, mentītārum, mentītās, mentīte, mentītī, mentītīs, mentītō, mentītōrum, mentītōs | — |
| future participle | mentītūrus mentītūra, mentītūrā, mentītūrae, mentītūram, mentītūrārum, mentītūrās, mentītūre, mentītūrī, mentītūrīs, mentītūrō, mentītūrōrum, mentītūrōs, mentītūrum | mentiendus mentiundus |
gerundmentiendī, mentiendō, mentiendumsupinementītum, mentītū
mentĭor, ītus, 4 (
I. fut. mentibitur, for mentietur, Plaut. Mil. 1, 1, 35; 2, 2, 99; v. Neue, Formenl. 2, p. 448), v. dep. n. and a. [prob. from root men-, whence mens, memini, q. v. Original meaning, to invent; hence],
I. Neutr., to lie, cheat, deceive, etc.:
mentiri palam, Plaut. Truc. 1, 2, 89: mentire, id. Poen. 3, 5, 18: adversus aliquem, id. Aul. 4, 7, 9: apud aliquem, id. Poen. 1, 1, 24: sibi, id. Am. 1, 2, 6: mihi, id. Capt. 3, 5, 46; Ter. Eun. 4, 4, 35: aperte, Cic. Ac. 2, 6, 18: in re aliquā, id. Att. 12, 21, 4: de re aliquā, id. N. D. 3, 6, 14: adeo veritatis diligens, ut ne joco quidem mentiretur, Nep. Epam. 3, 1.—With acc. and inf., to pretend, to declare falsely: certam me sum mentitus habere Horam, quae, etc., Ov. Tr. 1, 3, 53; Plin. 12, 15, 34, § 67: mentior nisi or si mentior, a form of asseveration, I am a liar, if, etc.: mentior, nisi et quae alunt illud, corpora sunt, Sen. Ep. 106, 5: si mentiar, inquit, Ultima, quā fallam, sit Venus illa mihi, Ov. F. 4, 227.—Of things, to deceive, impose upon: frons, oculi, vultus persaepe mentiuntur, oratio vero saepissime, Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 6: in quibus nihil umquam ... vetustas mentita sit, id. N. D. 2, 5, 15.— B. To deceive one's self, mistake:
mentire, gnate, Plaut. Trin. 2, 2, 83 Brix ad loc.— II. Act., to lie or speak falsely about, to assert falsely, make a false promise about; to feign, counterfeit, imitate a shape, nature, etc.:
cujus consilio tantam rem mentitus esset, had devised such a falsehood, Sall. C. 48: originem alicujus, Just. 35, 2, 4: auspicium, Liv. 10, 40: titulum Lyciscae, to assume falsely, Juv. 6, 123: noctem, to promise falsely, Prop. 3, 9, 1: cur sese daemonia mentiuntur, Tert. Apol. 23; also, to invent, feign, of a poetical fiction: ita mentitur (sc. Homerus), Hor. A. P. 151; cf.: poëtae Orionem mentiuntur in pelago incidentem, Lact. 4, 15, 21.—Pass.: si a debitore, praelato die, pignoris obligatio mentiatur, Dig. 48, 10, 28.—B. Trop., of inanim. subjects: semel fac illud, Mentitur tua quod subinde tussis, do what your cough keeps falsely promising, i. e. die, Mart. 5, 39, 6:
mentiris juvenem tinctis capillis, id. 3, 43, 1: color, qui chrysocollam mentitur, Plin. 35, 6, 29, § 48: nec varios discet mentiri lana colores, Verg. E. 4, 42: sexum viris denegatum muliebri motu, Col. praef. 1.—Hence, * 1. mentĭens, entis, m. subst., a fallacy, sophism: quomodo mentientem, quem ψευδόμενον vocant, dissolvas, Cic. Div. 2, 4, 11. —
2. mentītus, a, um, Part., in pass. signif., imitated, counterfeit, feigned (poet.):
mentita tela, Verg. A. 2, 422: figurae, Ov. M. 5, 326: fama, id. ib. 10, 28: nomen, id. ib. 10, 439; id. H. 11, 73; Sen. Contr. 5, 5, 3; Luc. 2, 512; Val. Fl. 6, 698; 7, 155; Sil. 15, 796; Stat. S. 4, 6, 21; id. Th. 1, 256; 7, 303; 10, 875; Poët. ap. Suet. Oth. 3; Prop. 4 (5), 7, 58. mentiti fictique terrores, Plin. Ep. 6, 20, 15; id. Pan. 81, 3: divinitas, Lact. 2, 16, 2; Quint. 12, 10, 76.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
mentior ītus, īrī, dep.
1 MAN-, to invent, assert falsely, lie, cheat, deceive, pretend : Si quicquam invenies me mentitum, T.: Hoc iuvat, non mentior, H.: plurimis de rebus: ne ioco quidem, N.: ille, satum quo te mentiris, pretend , V.: certam me sum mentitus habere Horam, quae, etc., O.—Of things, to deceive, impose upon : frons, oculi, voltus persaepe mentiuntur: in quibus nihil umquam vetustas mentita sit.— To lie about, assert falsely, make a false promise about, feign, counterfeit, imitate : tantam rem, devise such a falsehood , S.: auspicium, L.: titulum Lyciscae, assume falsely , Iu.: ita mentitur (sc. Homerus), fables , H.— Fig.: Spem mentita seges, disappointed , H.: Nec varios discet mentiri lana colores, to assume , V.
Origins
From mēns, mentis (“mind”) + -iō. Further from Proto-Indo-European *méntis, from *men-. The meaning "to lie" stems from a semantic shift "to be inventive, have second thoughts" > "to lie, conjure up". Compare comminīscor, commentum also from this root and again with these meanings. Further compare cognate Russian мни́мый (mnímyj), сомни́тельный (somnítelʹnyj). Also compare typologically Russian вы́мысел (výmysel) (akin to мысль (myslʹ)).
Descendants
- Catalanmentir
- Frenchmentir
- Italianmentire
- Occitanmentir
- Portuguesementir
- Romanianminți, mințire
- Spanishmentir
- Asturianmentir
- Friulianmintî
- Galicianmentir