non compos
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of non compos
First recorded in 1620–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When you watch it, you can see quite clearly, with the benefit of hindsight, that he is non compos mentis.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 8, 2010
In London, a coroner found that the late Sidney Corrall, acquisitive but non compos mentis, had swallowed and kept all to himself 201 pennies, florins, shillings, halfpennies, sixpences, half crowns, and threepenny bits.
From Time Magazine Archive
If anyone proposes another match race between these two super horses,” wrote a reporter after the race, “henceforth, he will be tried in the morning for treason, mutiny, mopery and non compos mentis.'''’
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
The coroner's inquest, supposing him to be dead, brought him in non compos.
From History of John Bull by Arbuthnot, John
As he moved awkwardly among them, some, who were squinting at him and his coarse apparel, supposed him non compos mentis.
From Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution by Judson, L. Carroll
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
