Word
ment
Definition
v. an old word for thinking about something or having something in your mind.
v. the past tense and past participle of 'mean' in its archaic or dialectal form; refers to the act of intending, signifying, or having a thought in mind.
Examples
“He ment to tell her the truth but forgot.”
“In the old letters found in the attic, the writer ment no harm by his sudden departure.”
“The poet ment for the final stanza to evoke a sense of longing, though modern readers often interpret the lines as a celebration of solitude.”
Examples
simple
“He ment to tell her the truth but forgot.”
contextual
“In the old letters found in the attic, the writer ment no harm by his sudden departure.”
complex
“The poet ment for the final stanza to evoke a sense of longing, though modern readers often interpret the lines as a celebration of solitude.”
Usage
Archaic spelling of 'meant'. In modern English, 'meant' is the standard past tense and past participle of 'mean'.
Pitfall
I ment to call you
I meant to call you
The modern standard spelling is 'meant'; 'ment' is considered a misspelling in contemporary English.
Etymology
From Korean 멘트 (menteu).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.