Middle English

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from Old Norse mennska (humanity), a substantivisation of mennskr (human), ultimately reflecting the weak inflection of Proto-Germanic *manniskaz; compare the development of modern English mensch.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈmɛnsk(ə)/, /ˈmɛnk(ə)/

Noun

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menske (plural menskes or mensken)

  1. honor, repute
    • c. 1225, “Feorðe dale: fondunges”, in Ancrene Ƿiſſe (MS. Corpus Christi 402)‎[1], Herefordshire, published c. 1235, folio 64, recto; republished at Cambridge: Parker Library on the Web, 2018 January:
      [] ah aſe feole ſiðen aſ þu ouerkimeſt him · aſe feole crunen · þet iſ to ſeggen · aſe feole menſken of miſliche murhðen ·
      [] but as many crowns as there are times you overcame him, that is to say, many honors in the form of various joys.
    • c. 1335-1361, William of Palerne (MS. King's College 13), folio 34, recto, lines 2028-2029; republished as W. W. Skeat, editor, The Romance of William of Palerne[2], London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1867, →OCLC, page 70:
      foꝛ ſoþe ſire quaþ aliſaundrine ⁊ · to ſaue ȝour mensk / i wol ȝou telle tiȝtly · what turn ſche as wꝛouȝt []
      "Truthfully, sir" said Alexandrine, "to save your honour, I'll tell you all about the thing she's done []
  2. kindness, dignity, humanity
  3. (rare) beauty, attractiveness
    • c. 1225, “Feorðe dale: fondunges”, in Ancrene Ƿiſſe (MS. Corpus Christi 402)‎[3], Herefordshire, published c. 1235, folio 75, verso; republished at Cambridge: Parker Library on the Web, 2018 January:
      amid te menſke of þi neb þet iſ þe fehereſte deal · bitƿeonen muðeſ ſmech ⁊ neaſeſ ſmeal []
      Amidst the beauty of your face, which is the nicest part [of the body], between the mouth's taste and the nose's smell []
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Descendants
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  • English: mense (dialectal)
  • Scots: mense

References

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Etymology 2

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Adjective

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menske

  1. Alternative form of mensk

Etymology 3

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Verb

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menske

  1. Alternative form of mensken