menso

Esperanto

Etymology

From Latin mēns.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmenso/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -enso
• Hyphenation: men‧so

Noun

menso (accusative singular menson, plural mensoj, accusative plural mensojn)

1. mind
   • 2012, Plato, translated by Donald Broadribb, La Respubliko (Traduko al Esperanto) [The Republic (Translation into Esperanto)], 2nd corrected edition (paperback), New York: Mondial, →ISBN, page 20:

     "Mi pensas pri la rakontoj kiuj parolas pri homoj en Hadeso - ke maljustulo devas esti punata tie. Eble oni antaŭe ridis pri tiaj rakontoj, sed nun la menso ekdubas, eble ili estas veraj."

     "I think about the stories which talk about people in Hades - that the unjust must be punished there. Perhaps one previously laughed about these stories, but now the mind begins to doubt, maybe they are true."

Derived terms

• mensa (“mental”)
• mense (“mentally”)

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈmẽː.soː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈmɛn.so]

Participle

mēnsō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of mēnsus

Old Prussian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mʲæn̪ˈs̪óː/

Noun

menso

1. meat
   • Elbing German-Prussian Vocabulary

     Vleysch   Menso

Spanish

Etymology

Arguably taken from Latin mēnsa (“table”); it is thought that medieval monks used the names of inanimate objects in disparaging reference to illiterate or non‐discerning people, partially out of a desire to not use an explicitly pejorative insult as would be forbidden by their canons.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmenso/ [ˈmẽn.so]
• Rhymes: -enso
• Syllabification: men‧so

Adjective

menso (feminine mensa, masculine plural mensos, feminine plural mensas) (offensive)

1. (Mexico, Central America) foolish, dull

   Synonyms: bobo, insensato, tarado, tonto

   Antonyms: aguzado, brillante, inteligente, listo

2. (Mexico, Central America) distracted, absent-minded

   Synonyms: absorto, distraído

   Antonyms: aguzado, atento, concentrado

3. (Mexico) ignorant

   Synonym: ignorante

   Antonyms: conocedor, inteligente, sabio

4. (Mexico) inexpert

   Synonyms: inexperto, novato, principiante

   Antonyms: conocedor, experto, perito

5. (Mexico) timid, shy

   Synonyms: chiveado, penoso, tímido

   Antonyms: aventado, decidido, valiente

6. (Mexico) ingenuous, naive

   Synonyms: inexperto, ingenuo

   Antonyms: colmilludo, sagaz

Usage notes

• Although in some contexts zonzo, bobo, tonto, menso, culero, tarado, idiota, imbécil, estúpido and pendejo may be synonyms, in most contexts these adjectives each have a different degree of severity, with zonzo having the mildest connotation, increasing in intensity in this rough order, to estúpido and pendejo, which have the most offensive sense.

Derived terms

• mensada

Further reading

• “menso”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

Anagrams

• menos
• mesón