English
menticide
Menticide comes from Latin mēns ‘mind’, from Proto-Indo-European *méntis ‘thought’, and ultimately from *men- ‘to think, mind’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-‘to think, mind’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*méntis‘thought’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mentis‘mind, thought’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmēns‘mind’
- Englishearliest quotation 1957menticide
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-‘to think, mind’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*méntis‘thought’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mentis‘mind, thought’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmēns‘mind’
- Englishearliest quotation 1957menticide
Earliest quotation: 1957, Joost Abraham Maurits Meerloo, London: Jonathan Cape: “In the last phases of brainwashing and menticide, the…”
Formed from -cide ‘killing’
The story
Coined during the 1950s.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to think, mind’
money, music, amount, mouth, remain, museum, mountain, monster, auto, min, monitor, comment, permanent, mount, monetary, monk, maya, demonstration, mint, monastery, amnesty, muse, summon, ming, mas, mandarin, mindful, monte, mania, monument, muster, monstrous, prominence, mosaic, mentor, imminent, amnesia, mantra, mont, eminent, 123 more
through Proto-Indo-European *méntis ‘thought’
through Latin mēns ‘mind’
Today it means
noun Brain-washing, conditioning people to abandon their beliefs.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *men- / menticide