Etymograph

English

dement

Dement comes from Vulgar Latin dementare ‘to deceive’, from Latin dēmēns ‘demented, mad’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to think, mind’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-1‘to think, mind’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méntis1‘thought’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mentis1‘mind, thought’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmēns1‘mind’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēmēns1‘demented, mad’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEdementare1‘to deceive’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600dement1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1921dement1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English dement
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1921, Montagu Lomax, The Experiences of an Asylum Doctor: “The patients are more or less chronic dements, sufficiently…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-Wiktionary, English dement‘to think, mind’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méntisWiktionary, English dement‘thought’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mentisWiktionary, English dement‘mind, thought’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmēnsWiktionary, English dement‘mind’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēmēnsWiktionary, English dement‘demented, mad’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEdementareWiktionary, English dement‘to deceive’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600dementWiktionary, English dement
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1921dementWiktionary, English dement. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1921, Montagu Lomax, The Experiences of an Asylum Doctor: “The patients are more or less chronic dements, sufficiently…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to think, mind’

money, music, amount, mouth, museum, remain, mountain, monster, auto, min, monitor, comment, mount, permanent, monetary, mention, monk, maya, demonstration, monastery, amnesty, mint, muse, mosaic, summon, ming, mas, mandarin, mindful, mania, monte, muster, monstrous, prominence, amnesia, manic, monument, imminent, mantra, mentor, 120 more

through Proto-Indo-European *méntis ‘thought’

mind, mantis, 3 more

through Latin mēns ‘mind’

mental, 3 more

Today it means

adj Demented.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dement”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *men- / dement

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