Mind

Pronunciation

• enPR: mÄ«nd, IPA: /maɪnd/
• Rhymes: -aɪnd
• Homophones: mined

Origin

From Middle English minde, munde, ȝemunde, from Old English mynd, ġemynd ("memory, remembrance; memorial, record; act of commemoration; thought, purpose; consciousness, mind, intellect"), from Proto-Germanic *mundiz, *gamundiz ("memory, remembrance"), from Proto-Indo-European *méntis ("thought"), from Proto-Indo-European *men- ("to think"). Cognate with Old High German gimunt ("mind, memory"), Danish minde ("memory"), Icelandic minni ("memory, recall, recollection"), Gothic 𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌳𐍃 (munds, "memory, mind"), Old English myntan ("to mean, intend, purpose, determine, resolve"), Latin mēns ("mind, reason"), Albanian mënd ("mind, reason"). More at mint.

Full definition of mind

Noun

1. The ability for rational thought.
   Despite advancing age, his mind was still as sharp as ever.
2. The ability to be aware of things.
   There was no doubt in his mind that they would win.
3. The ability to remember things.
   My mind just went blank.
4. The ability to focus the thoughts.
   I can’t keep my mind on what I’m doing.
5. Somebody that embodies certain mental qualities.
   He was one of history’s greatest minds.
6. Judgment, opinion, or view.
   He changed his mind after hearing the speech.
7. Desire, inclination, or intention.
   She had a mind to go to Paris.
   A mind to the madness.
8. A healthy mental state.
   I, ______ being of sound mind and body, do hereby ...
   You are losing your mind.
• 1910, Emerson Hough, The Purchase Price Chapter 1, “… it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”
9. (philosophy) The non-material substance or set of processes in which consciousness, perception, affectivity, judgement, thinking, and will are based.
   The mind is a process of the brain.
• 1699, William Temple, Heads designed for an essay on conversationsStudy gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.
• 1854, Samuel Knaggs, Unsoundness of Mind Considered in Relation to the Question of Responsibility for Criminal Acts, p. 19:The mind is that part of our being which thinks and wills, remembers and reasons; we know nothing of it except from these functions.
• 1883, Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin HoodThus they dwelled for nearly a year, and in that time Robin Hood often turned over in his mind many means of making an even score with the Sheriff
• 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 7, … St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.

Synonyms

• (ability for rational thought) brain, head, intellect, intelligence, nous, psyche, reason, wit
• (ability to be aware of things) awareness, consciousness, sentience
• (ability to remember things) memory, recollection
• (ability to focus the thoughts) attention, concentration, focus
• (somebody that embodies certain mental qualities) genius, intellectual, thinker
• (judgment, opinion, or view) judgment, judgement, idea, opinion, view
• (desire, inclination, or intention) desire, disposition, idea, inclination, intention, mood
• (healthy mental state) sanity
• (process of): cognition, learning

Derived terms

Verb

1. (now regional) To remember. from 14th c.
• 1896, A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, XXXVII, lines 25-26:The land where I shall mind you not
  Is the land where all's forgot.
2. (now rare except in phrases) To concern oneself with, to pay attention to. from 15th c.You should mind your own business.
• Addisonbidding him be a good child, and mind his book
3. (originally and chiefly in negative or interrogative constructions) To dislike, to object to; to be bothered by. from 16th c.I wouldn't mind an ice cream right now.
4. (now chiefly North America, Ireland) To pay attention to; to listen attentively to, to obey. from 16th c.
• 2000, George RR Martin, A Storm of Swords, Bantam 2011, p. 84:‘Should you ever have a son, Sansa, beat him frequently so he learns to mind you.’
5. To pay attention to (something); to keep one's mind on.
• ShakespeareMy lord, you nod: you do not mind the play.
6. To look after, to take care of, especially for a short period of time. from 17th c.Would you mind my bag for me?
7. (chiefly in imperative) To make sure, to take care (that). from 17th c.Mind you don't knock that glass over.
8. To be careful about. from 18th c.
• 2005, Gillie Bolton, Reflective Practice: Writing And Professional Development, ISBN 9781848602120, p. xv:Bank Underground Station, London, is built on a curve, leaving a potentially dangerous gap between platform and carriage to trap the unwary. The loudspeaker voice instructs passengers to "Mind the gap": the boundary between train and platform.
9. (obsolete) To have in mind; to intend.
• ShakespeareI mind to tell him plainly what I think.
10. (obsolete) To put in mind; to remind.
• FullerHe minded them of the mutability of all earthly things.
• ShakespeareI do thee wrong to mind thee of it.

Derived terms