I. ˈmīnd noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English minde, mynde, from Old English gemynd; akin to Old High German gimunt memory, Gothic gamunds commemoration, mention; all from a prehistoric Germanic compound whose first constituent is represented by Old English ge- (perfective, associative, and collective prefix) and whose second constituent is akin to Latin ment-, mens mind, monēre to warn, Greek menos spirit, intent, mnasthai to remember, mimnēskein to remind, Sanskrit manas mind, manyate he thinks — more at co-
1. : the state of remembering or being remembered : memory , recollection — used chiefly in phrases
important to keep in mind the purpose for which the council was summoned — Vernon Bartlett
hunting, fishing, and other sports … come to mind — E.L.Ullman
rattle it off out of mind — Stamps
put me in mind of an old story — E.G.Bulwer-Lytton
2. : the commemoration of a deceased person especially by a requiem just a month or a year after the funeral — see month's mind , year's mind
3.
a. : that which reasons : the doer of intellectual work — usually distinguished from will and emotion
formulas toward which her meditating mind ran — R.P.Blackmur
b.
(1) : an organized group of events in neural tissue occurring mediately in response to antecedent intrapsychic or extrapsychic events which it perceives, classifies, transforms, and coordinates prior to initiating action whose consequences are foreseeable to the extent of available information
(2) : the aspect of a biological organism that is not organic in nature
in man mind is experienced as emotions, imagination, or will
c. : the sum total of the conscious states of an individual
d. : the sum total of the individual's adaptive activity considered as an organized whole though also capable of being split into dissociated parts
as the conscious and the unconscious mind
e. : one's capacity for mental activity : one's available stock of mental and adaptive responses
4. : inclination , intention , desire , wish , purpose — used chiefly in phrases
of a mind to listen to reason — T.B.Costain
one of my crack stockmen when he has a mind to work — Rex Ingamells
anyone who was of a mind to ransacked the floors above him — Andy Logan
know one's own mind
changed her mind
5. : the normal or healthy condition of the mental faculties
out of his mind
lost her mind
6. : the bent or fixed direction of one's thoughts, inclinations, or desires
kept his mind on one sole aim — Alfred Tennyson
a wife to his mind
7. : that which one thinks regarding something : opinion , view
the governor desired every member of the board would deliver his mind — Colonial Records of Penn.
a fool uttereth all his mind — Prov 29:11 (Authorized Version)
unwilling to speak his mind
8. : the state of one's spirits : mental disposition : cast of thought or feeling : mood
9.
a. : a person who is the embodiment of mental qualities (as thought, feelings, or disposition)
the artistic mind
the scientific mind
the work of … the world's best minds — advt
b. : a group of people or the inhabitants of an area who are the embodiment of such qualities
the European mind
the public mind
10. : intellectual quality : mental power
the works of men of mind — Alfred Tennyson
11. capitalized
a. : deity 1b
haunted forever by the eternal Mind — William Wordsworth
b. Christian Science : god II b(6)
12.
a. : the conscious element or factor in the universe that in dualistic metaphysical systems is contrasted with matter and in monistic idealistic systems is held to be the only ultimate reality : spirit , nous , intelligence
b. : the quality, relatedness, or temporal organization exhibited by a spatial extensity and related to it in a manner analogous to the relation of consciousness to a conscious organism
c. : the objectification of consciousness or awareness : that which attends
13. dialect : attention — usually used with negative
don't pay him any mind
Synonyms:
intellect , soul , psyche , brain , brains , intelligence , wit (or wits ): mind indicates the complex of man's faculties involved in perceiving, remembering, considering, evaluating, and deciding; it contrasts variously with body, heart, soul, and spirit
the mind must have its share in deciding these important matters, not merely the emotions and desires — Rose Macaulay
mind may indicate the peculiar complex of a particular individual as differing from all others
the mind of a dreamer joined to the temperament of a soldier — John Buchan
intellect , sometimes interchangeable with mind , may focus attention on knowing and thinking powers, those by which one may know, comprehend, consider, and conclude — more coldly analytic powers independent of and discrete from willing and feeling
the emotionalist steeps himself or herself in luxurious feeling and pathetic imagination, which makes no severe call upon either the will or the intellect — W.R.Inge
now the significance of Sir Thomas Browne lies in the fact that he was at once by intellect a force in the forward movement and by temperament a reactionary — P.E.More
soul , used with considerable variation in meaning and suggestion, may indicate that principle which vitalizes, directs, selects, or inspires in matters emotional and volitional as well as mental
my inner existence, that consciousness which is called the soul — Richard Jefferies
the soul is an intelligent, sensitive, and vital principle, a trinity which forms and moves the body predisposed to such action, as well as feels, thinks, and wills — Frank Thilly
psyche may refer to the totality of self composed of all attributes, powers, and activities not purely bodily or somatic but definitely including the unconscious or subconscious
by the psyche I understand the totality of all the psychic processes, both conscious as well as unconscious; whereas by soul, I understand a definitely demarcated function-complex that is best characterized as a “personality” — H.G.Baynes
brain or brains in the sense here considered may more forcefully than intellect focus attention on powers of individual comprehension or independent thought
it requires brains and education to follow the argument — W.R.Inge
have I ever even felt inclined to write anything, until my emotions had been unduly excited, my brain immoderately stirred, my senses unusually quickened, or my spirit extravagantly roused? — John Galsworthy
intelligence is likely to apply specific ability to cope with problems and situations or to exhibition of the play of powers of the intellect or comparable ones
has turned capable men into mere machines doing their work without intelligence — G.B.Shaw
wild animals are not automata — they have intelligence if they lack intellect — J.S.Clarke
wit and wits may refer to a mind marked by inborn capacity, strong common sense, bright perception, or ready intelligence
had the wit to look for him at the Federation meeting — Arnold Bennett
everyone had to be a jack-of-all-trades, everyone had to live by his wits — Van Wyck Brooks
Synonym: see in addition memory .
•
- be a mind
- in two minds
- on one's mind
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English minden, mynden, from minde, mynde mind, memory — more at mind I
transitive verb
1.
a. chiefly dialect : to put (one) in mind of something : remind
fight valiantly today; and yet I do thee wrong to mind thee of it — Shakespeare
mind the boy to perform his tasks
the noise minded them of their danger
b. : to serve as a reminder of
that as a sacred symbol it may dwell in her son's flesh, to mind revengement — Edmund Spenser
2. chiefly dialect : to recall and bear in mind : have in mind : remember
the lads you leave will mind you — A.E.Housman
I mind me how … from my Sunday coat I brushed off the burrs — J.G.Whittier
I minded how easy her delicacy had been startled — R.L.Stevenson
mind tomorrow's early meeting — Robert Browning
3.
a. : to occupy oneself with : attend to (something) closely : direct one's attention or energies upon
minds his own business
minds her work and is never heard gossiping
b. chiefly dialect : to have a liking for
minded nothing but eating and sleeping
4. obsolete : to remember in prayers or a will
mind us when at the throne of grace — Michael Shields
5. : to become aware of : notice , perceive
I'll fall flat. Perchance he will not mind me — Shakespeare
6.
a. obsolete : to have (something) in view : contemplate with the intention of taking action
that noble prince began … to mind the reformation of things there run amiss — Edmund Spenser
b. chiefly dialect : to have as a wish, inclination, or intention : purpose — usually used with an infinitive phrase
I mind to tell him plainly what I think — Shakespeare
7.
a. : to give heed to attentively in order to obey
mind the instructions that are about to be issued
b. : to follow the orders or directions of : obey
his aunt could not make the child mind her
mind your mother
8.
a. : to be concerned or troubled about : become vexed or angered over
I did not mind his being a little out of humor — Richard Steele
never mind your unfortunate mistake
b. : to object to : dislike
would you mind answering a few questions
another man who does not mind the cold — Geoffrey Boumphrey
9. : to bear in mind and take care : see — usually used with a clause
mind that you don't forget to mail the letters
mind you finish the work today
mind you beat down his prices a bit — Christopher Isherwood
10.
a. : to be cautious or wary about : be on guard against
mind the broken rung on the ladder
b. : to be careful or attentive about
I wish either … had minded what they were about — Laurence Sterne
11. : to take care of : have the charge or oversight of : guard from harm or injury : watch over : tend
women who mind the child for a small fee — Social Services in British
the man who minds a machine in a factory — J.M.Richards
the shepherd minds his sheep
12. : to regard with attention : treat as of consequence : consider or note (something) as having importance
we mind such ideas as justice and liberty; we know that they matter — H.J.Muller
and this, mind you, from a man who voted for woman suffrage — W.A.White
intransitive verb
1. chiefly dialect : remember — often used with of, on, upon
I mind of what he was saying last week
he could mind when that tone first crept into Pa's voice — Minnie H. Moody
2. : to be attentive or wary : be on guard
3. : to become concerned or troubled : feel agitated or angry : care , worry
never mind about the matter
we thought he would be angry but he did not mind
when the weather stays dry … nobody minds about petty irritations — Hilary Phillips
if nobody minds, I shall go straight to bed — Nigel Balchin
4. : to pay heed or attention ; especially : obey
a teacher must make the children mind
the dog minds well
assigned them extra homework if they didn't mind
Synonyms: see obey , remember
III. ˈmind noun
or minn ˈmin
( -s )
Etymology: Old Irish mind
: a thin semioval gold plate believed to have been used by the ancient Celts as an ornament and especially as a diadem