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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

mentor en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈmɛn.tɚ/ (Canada, General-American)
  • /ˈmen.toː/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
  • /ˈmɛn.toɹ/ (Canada, General-American)
  • /ˈmɛn.toə/ (Received-Pronunciation) without the horse–hoarse merger
  • /ˈmɛn.tɔː/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • men'tôr
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • men'tər

Etymology

From French mentor, from Ancient Greek Μέντωρ (Méntōr, “Mentor”), a mythological character in the Odyssey, whose name, a historical name from Ancient Greece, shares the same root as English mind. Cognate to Sanskrit मन्तृ (mantṛ, “advisor, counselor”) and Latin monitor (“one who admonishes”), and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *monéyeti (compare Latin moneō (“to warn”), causative form of *men- (“to think”).

Meanings

  1. A wise and trusted counselor or teacher.
    • Many mentors claim that they would work with the vocationers for free because of the sense of satisfaction the interaction provides. 2006, Lisa Johnson, Mind Your X's and Y's:
    • I thought he was supposed to be my mentor. But, in actuality, what did I know about the often beguiling world of adults? 2009, Reif Larsen, The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, Pinguin Books, page 26:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
mentors Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

mentress · mentorly · mentrix · e-mentorship · telementor · mentoress · mentorish · mentorship · mentoree · mentorial · mentorlike · mentorism · mentorless · e-mentor · mentee

Translations (39)

eo mentoro (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · es mentor (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · mhr ача (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · fi oppi-isä (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · it tutore (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · ru ме́нтор (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · ko 멘토 (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · da mentor (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · mk у́чител (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · nl leidsman (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · id mentor (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · tr hoca (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · nl mentor (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · id pembimbing (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · fi ohjaaja (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · he מַנְחֶה (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · he חוֹנֵךְ (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · cy mentor (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · fr mentor (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · pt mentor (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · ru наста́вник (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · bg ментор (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · el μέντορας (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · ja メンター (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · gu શિક્ષક (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · it pigmalione (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · mk ме́нтор (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · hi मार्गदर्शक (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · de Mentor (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · pl mentor (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · de Vertrauensperson (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · de Vertrauenslehrer (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · it mentore (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · bg наставник (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · fi mentori (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · sv mentor (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · cmn 導師 /导师 (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · mk воспи́тувач (wise and trusted counselor or teacher) · cmn 指導者 /指导者 (wise and trusted counselor or teacher)

mentor en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • /ˈmɛn.tɚ/ (Canada, General-American)
  • /ˈmen.toː/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
  • /ˈmɛn.toɹ/ (Canada, General-American)
  • /ˈmɛn.toə/ (Received-Pronunciation) without the horse–hoarse merger
  • /ˈmɛn.tɔː/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • men'tôr
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • men'tər

Etymology

From French mentor, from Ancient Greek Μέντωρ (Méntōr, “Mentor”), a mythological character in the Odyssey, whose name, a historical name from Ancient Greece, shares the same root as English mind. Cognate to Sanskrit मन्तृ (mantṛ, “advisor, counselor”) and Latin monitor (“one who admonishes”), and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *monéyeti (compare Latin moneō (“to warn”), causative form of *men- (“to think”).

Meanings

  1. (transitive) To act as someone's mentor.
    • I want to get people motivated about mentoring students, to help them get excited about staying in school, finding their passion, and starting a career. 2016 September 16, Soledad O'Brien, “Soledad O'Brien: We Should Rethink What Mentoring Means”, in Time, archived from the original on 20 Jan 2025:
    • After him came several deshi, or followers he had mentored. 2008 September 8, Richard Halloran, “Japan’s rapid succession of prime ministers belies its global role”, in Taipei Times, Taipai, page 9:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
mentoring Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
mentored Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
mentored Tense=Past lexicographic
mentors Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic

Relateds

mentee · coach · nestor · sponsor

Translations (7)

fi ohjata (to act as someone's mentor) · bg наставлявам (to act as someone's mentor) · sh mentorisati (to act as someone's mentor) · de betreuen (to act as someone's mentor) · sh mentorirati (to act as someone's mentor) · fi opastaa (to act as someone's mentor) · fi mentoroida (to act as someone's mentor)