mense

[ mens ]

/ mɛns /

British Dialect

noun

propriety; discretion.

verb (used with object), mensed, mens·ing.

to adorn; bring honor to; grace.

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bailiwick

a creature, variously described as a serpent, lizard, or dragon, said to kill by its breath or look.

place or source of origin.

a person's area of skill, knowledge, authority, or work.

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Origin of mense

1490–1500; variant (north) of mensk, Middle English menske courtesy, honor < Old Norse menska humanity, cognate with Old English menniscu literally, the human state; akin to mensch. See man¹, -ish¹

OTHER WORDS FROM mense

mense·ful, adjectivemense·less, adjective

Words nearby mense

mens rea, mens sana in corpore sano, mensa, mensal, mensch, mense, menservants, menses, menshevik, menstrual, menstrual cycle

Example sentences from the Web for mense

(from whose work I take the extract), the following passage occurs, under the head "Mense Januario."
Notes and Queries, Number 20, March 16, 1850|Various
An idle taistrill is t' sparrow, wi' nowther sense nor mense in his head.
More Tales of the Ridings|Frederic Moorman
Mense′ful, decorous: respectable; Mense′less, graceless, uncivil.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)|Various
They's not nice gemmans at all to s'pect little folkses like us to carry such a drefful 'mense, 'normous, big box same as this.
Mary's Rainbow|Mary Edward Feehan

In Mense's Handbuch der Tropenkrankheiten, i, p. 263-283, pls.
Handbook of Medical Entomology|William Albert Riley

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