mense en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /mɛns/
Etymology
From earlier mensk, from Middle English menske (“courtesy, honour”), from Old English mennisċu (“the human condition, humanity”) and/or Old Norse menska (“humanity”). More at mennish, mensch.
Meanings
- (countable, uncountable) Property, owndom; possessions.
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(UK, countable, dialectal, uncountable) Decency; propriety; civility.
... ye'll hae the sense and the mense to keep a calm sough,[…]
1904, Samuel Rutherford Crockett, The Men of the Moss-hags: Being a History of Adventure Taken from the Papers of William Gordon of Earlstoun in Galloway, page 126:Be seen with men of mense, but turn aside From swicks and sweeps, the silly and the low […]
1895, William Dunbar, Dunbar: Being a Selection from the Poems of an Old Makar, page 31:... But never a soul had the mense to come near them,[…]
1812, John Bell, Rhymes of Northern Bards: Being a Curious Collection of Old and New Songs and Poems, Peculiar to the Counties of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, and Durham, page 185:For she had baked a crumpie cake And butter scones, for mense's sake, To entertain her lodger.
1871, Henry Scott Riddell, The Poetical Works of Henry Scott Riddell, page 141:Little mense to the cheeks to bite aff the nose[…]
1842, William Chambers, Robert Chambers, Chambers's Information for the People, page 796:
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(UK, countable, dialectal, uncountable) A large amount.
He has a mense o' pure nonsense,
1857, James Stewart, Sketches of Scottish Character, and Other Poems. The Late James Steward. With a Memoir of the Author, page 22:There is not a mense of snow in "smoky Leeds,"
1841, Richard Winter Hamilton, Nugae Literariae: Prose and Verse, page 356:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| menses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |