|
Asturian -miente, Portuguese -mente, Galician -mente, Catalan -ment, French -ment, Italian -mente, Neopolitan -mente, Sardinian -menti
The grammaticalization of mente into a suffix was an ancient process of referring to mental states by saying "with a ____ mind." For example, studiosa mente "with a studious mind" (Pharies 2008). It later crystalized as a suffix when speakers referred to any and every action with mente, thus generalizing its role and securing its place as a suffix (Dyer 1972). The addition of mente was largely a Vulgar Latin habit, in Classical Latin the traditional word was modo "way."
Ellision of the suffix is uneven across the Western Romance languages. In Spanish, the suffix is ellided until the final adverb (e.g. rápida y locamente), but in French the suffix is never ellided and in Catalan the first adverb takes the suffix while the subsequent are ellided (e.g. rápidament i silenciosa) (Castells 2013). "In modern Spanish, -mente is no longer perceived as a noun (its congener miente is now confined to a few idiomatic expressions), but it can still be detached from its host adjective in order to avoid awkward repetition.... ~ Harris & Vincent, The Romance Languages (2003)
|
Portuguese mente, Catalan ment, Italian mente, Aromanian minti, Romanian minte, Sardinian mente
Gothic ga-minþi "memory," Old Norse mynd "image," Old High German gi-munt "memory," Old English ge-mynd "mind" (English mind)
Old Church Slavonic pamętь "memory," Russian pá-mjat' 'id.,' Czech pamět' 'id.,' Slovene pámet, Lithuanian mintìs "idea"
Sanskrit matí- "thought," "mind"
For the origin of the word as a suffix, see -mente.
|
Portuguese mentir, Catalan mentir, French mentir, Italian mentire, Romanian minți
|
|
Asturian menude, Portuguese miúdo, Galician minuto, Catalan menut, French menu, Italian minuto, Aromanian minut, Romanian mărunt
Gothic mins "less," Old Norse minnr 'id.,' Old High German mind 'id.,' Old Saxon min 'id.'
Ancient Greek μείων (meíon) "smaller"
Sanskrit minā́ti "to damage"
B maiwe "small"
|
|
Asturian mercáu, Galician mercado, Portuguese mercado, Catalan mercat, French marché (Old French marchiet), Italian mercato, Sardinian melcadu
Basque merkatu "market," borrowed from Latin mercatus
|
Portuguese mercê, French merci, Italian mercede
Latin Mercurius "god of trade," Oscan mirikui (name of a deity), Faliscan mercui (name of a deity)
|
Portuguese merecer, Galician merecer, Catalan merèixer, French mériter, Italian meritare, Romanian merita
Old Irish mart "fated death," Old Welsh marth "wonder" (however Middle Welsh marth "untimely death"), Cornish marth "miracle," Breton marzh 'id.'
Ancient Greek μόρος (móros) "destiny," "death," μείρομαι (meíromai) "I receive as apportioned"
|