men's n : a public toilet for men [syn: men's room]

Danish

Preposition

mens

1. while.

Dutch

Pronunciation

• mɛns

Noun

mens

1. human, man (generalizing sense)

Derived terms

• menselijk
• menselijkheid

French

Etymology

A form of mentir

Verb form

mens

1. I lie

Latin

Etymology

Noun

1. mind

Declension

Norwegian

Preposition

mens

1. while

Noun

no-noun-mu mens

1. contraction of menstruasjon (menstruation)

Swedish

Preposition

mens

1. , contraction of medan

Noun

mens

1. contraction of menstruation
2. inflection of men

In Roman mythology, Mens, also known as Bona Mens or Mens Bona (Latin for "Good Mind"), was the personification of thought, consciousness and the mind, and also of "right-thinking". Her festival was celebrated on June 8. A temple on the Capitoline Hill in Rome was vowed to Mens in 217 BC on advice from the Sibylline Books, and was dedicated in 215 BC.

The Latin word mens expresses the idea of "mind" and is the origin of English words like mental and dementia. The gifted-only organization Mensa International was originally to be named mens in the sense of "mind", but took instead the name Mensa (Latin: "table") to avoid ambiguity with "men's" in English and "mens" in other languages.

References

• Richardson, L. (1992). A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome (pp. 251). Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-4300-6.
• Scullard, H.H. (1981). Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic (p. 148). London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-8014-1402-4.