-mente

See also:mente,ménte,menté,andmentė

Asturian

Etymology

FromLatinmente.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/ˈmente/,[ˈmẽn̪.t̪e]

Suffix

-mente(adverb-forming suffix)

1. Attaches to an adjective in the feminine singular to form the corresponding adverb.

Derived terms

Asturian terms suffixed with -mente

Galician

Etymology

InheritedfromOld Galician-Portuguese-mente,fromLatinmente.ComparePortuguese-mente.

Suffix

-mente(adverb-forming suffix)

1. Attaches to an adjective in the feminine singular to form the corresponding adverb.

Derived terms

Galician terms suffixed with -mente

Interlingua

Etymology

FromSpanish-menteand other Romance descendants ofLatinmente.

Suffix

-mente

1. Attaches to an adjective to form the corresponding adverb.

   physicamente(“physically”)

Usage notes

After a final-cthe vowel-a-is inserted, e.g.physicamente(note use ofphysicarather thanphysic;*physicmentewould be incorrect)

Derived terms

Interlingua terms suffixed with -mente

Italian

Etymology

Latinmente.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/ˈmen.te/
• Rhymes:-ente
• Hyphenation:-mén‧te

Suffix

-mente

1. Attaches to an adjective in the feminine singular to form the corresponding adverb.

Usage notes

• Because the suffix originates as a reinterpretation of the Latin feminine noun formmenteinablativallocutions [such asclārāmente(literally“with a clear mind”),whenceItalianchiaramente]; if the root adjective ends in-o,in formation of the adverb it is employed in its feminine singular form.

Examples:

‎chiara(“clear”)+ ‎-mente→ ‎chiaramente(“clearly”)

‎fisica(“physical”)+ ‎-mente→ ‎fisicamente(“physically”)

‎stupida(“stupid”, “foolish”)+ ‎-mente→ ‎stupidamente(“stupidly”, “foolishly”)

• Adjectives ending in-e,not distinguishing masculine and feminine forms, simply have the suffix attached to the singular form.

Example:

‎grande(“great”)+ ‎-mente→ ‎grandemente(“greatly”)

• When the root adjective ends in-le,-lo,-reor-ro,the suffix is attached directly to the consonant and the final vowel of the adjective is dropped.

Examples:

‎speciale(“special”)+ ‎-mente→ ‎specialmente(“especially”, “particularly”)

‎celere(“swift”)+ ‎-mente→ ‎celermente(“swiftly”)

• Terms derived with this suffix are invariably stressed on thepenultimate.

Derived terms

Italian terms suffixed with -mente

• battaglievolmente
• disprezzevolmente
• giochevolmente
• trascorrevolmente

Neapolitan

Etymology

FromLatinmente.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):[ˈmɛntə]

Suffix

-mente

Attaches to an adjective in the feminine singular to form the corresponding adverb.

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology

InheritedfromLatinmente.

Suffix

-mente

1. Attaches to an adjective in the feminine singular to form the corresponding adverb.

   ‎cruu(“cruel”)+ ‎-mente→ ‎cruamente(“cruelly”)

   ‎forte(“strong”)+ ‎-mente→ ‎fortemente(“strongly”)

   ‎primeiro(“first”)+ ‎-mente→ ‎primeiramente(“firstly”)

Derived terms

Old Galician-Portuguese terms suffixed with -mente

Descendants

• Galician:-mente
• Portuguese:-mente

Portuguese

Etymology

InheritedfromOld Galician-Portuguese-mente,fromLatinmente.CompareGalician-mente.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil)IPA^(key):/ˈmẽ.t͡ʃi/

• (Brazil)IPA^(key):/ˈmẽ.t͡ʃi/
  • (Southern Brazil)IPA^(key):/ˈmẽ.te/

• (Portugal)IPA^(key):/ˈmẽ.tɨ/

• Rhymes:(Portugal)-ẽtɨ,(Brazil)-ẽt͡ʃi
• Hyphenation:-men‧te

Suffix

-mente

1. Attaches to an adjective in the feminine singular to form the corresponding adverb.
   • 2000,J. K. Rowling,translated byLia Wyler,Harry Potter e o Prisioneiro de Azkaban[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban] (Harry Potter;3), Rio de Janeiro: Rocco,→ISBN,page336:

     Francamente,vão acordar todo mundo!

     Frankly, you are going to wake up everybody!

Usage notes

-menteis always added to the feminine form of the adjective, e.g.fisicamente(note use offísicarather thanfísico;*fisicomentewould be incorrect)

-mentecan be dropped from adverbs other than the last one in a sequence:

Ele escrevia rápida e freneticamente.

He was writing quickly and frenetically.

Derived terms

Portuguese terms suffixed with -mente

Related terms

• mente

Spanish

Etymology

FromOld Spanish-mente/-miente/-mientre,fromLatinmente.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/ˈmente/[ˈmẽn̪.t̪e](additionally stressing the syllable of the underlying adjective)

• Audio(Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-ente
• Syllabification:-men‧te

Suffix

-mente(adverb-forming suffix)

1. Attaches to an adjective in the feminine singular to form the corresponding adverb.

   ‎normal(“normal”)+ ‎-mente→ ‎normalmente(“normally, usually”)

   ‎física(“physical”)+ ‎-mente→ ‎físicamente(“physically”)

   ‎común(“common”)+ ‎-mente→ ‎comúnmente(“commonly”)

   ‎loca(“crazy”)+ ‎-mente→ ‎locamente(“crazily”)

Usage notes

• Adverbs in-menteare formed from the feminine singular forms of adjectives. For example,nuevamente(“newly”)is formed fromnueva(“new”),andcomúnmente(“commonly”)is formed fromcomún(“common”).
• Not all words ending in <-mente> are adverbs formed with this suffix. For example,vehementeanddementeare both adjectives. In fact, adverbvehementementedoes exist.
• If the adjective is written with an accent, then the adverb with-menteis written with an accent in the same place; hencecomúnmente,rápidamente,and so on. Conversely, if the adjective is written without an accent, then the adverb with-menteis also written without an accent; hencelentamente,nuevamente,and so on.
• In a string of adverbs connected with a conjunction,-mentemay be omitted from all but the last. "Vaga,rápidaydescuidadamente"

Derived terms

Spanish terms suffixed with -mente

Further reading

• “-mente”,inDiccionario de la lengua española[Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7,Royal Spanish Academy[Spanish:Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28