mense

[mens]British Dialect

noun

propriety; discretion.

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

to adorn; bring honor to; grace.

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

Related formsmense·ful, adjectivemense·less, adjective

Examples from the Web for mense

Historical Examples of mense

In Mense's Handbuch der Tropenkrankheiten, i, p. 263-283, pls.
Handbook of Medical Entomology
William Albert Riley
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
(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
In October, 1181, three Consuls preside "super facto iustitiae, nominatim in mense octobris."
The Two First Centuries of Florentine History
Pasquale Villari
Mense′ful, decorous: respectable; Mense′less, graceless, uncivil.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)
Various