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Chris -- 2018-04-11
compos mentis – 202,000 ghits
compass mentis – 78 ghits
For those of us without Latin, ‘compass mentis’ sounds as if it has something to do with knowing where you are; ‘non compass mentis’ on the other hand suggests that, mentally, one is lost. Pretty close, really.
TO ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN THE, Person and Estate of Sarah Cook, Non Compass Mentis, J.D. Cunningham, has filed in the County Court of Kaufman County, ...
www.rootsweb.com/~txkaufma/oldplace/poorfarm.htm – 31k – Cached –
I was hoping to do some of my NVQ today, but I haven’t been up to it, even when I did get up I had no energy, and was in no way compass mentis enough to …
www.dane-online.org/cateyscreations/archives/001850.php – 8k – Supplemental Result – Cached
“I’ll wait till I know she’s fully compass mentis first.†Barret replied. Vax gave him a curt nod and then looked back towards Lain who’s eyes were fully …
katrinaforest.com/fanficboard/posting.php?mode=quote&p=607&sid=97ca9e435047b2281a674176c40e1206 – 164k – Supplemental Result – Cached
He was half asleep and I had to wait until he was compass mentis before I said ‘honey this is it, I am officially in laborâ€. He became all panicky and said …
www.uptheduff.org/forums/viewthread/58/P15/ – 97k – Cached
Incidentally, there are 2,790 ghits for ‘compost mentis’ too, but most of them seem to be gardeners’ wordplay. Pity, that.
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Peter Forster wrote:
Incidentally, there are 2,790 ghits for ‘compost mentis’ too, but most of them seem to be gardeners’ wordplay. Pity, that.
I would place those in the category “compost menace” for their obstruction to the eggcorn hunt. (Indeed, a pity!)
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Another variation of “non compos mentis†is “non compose mentis.†The slip is motivated, I presume, by the fact that many people with mental illness are agitated, i.e., uncomposed (reminds me of the wonderful British legal phrase, “while the balance of his mind was disturbedâ€).
The earliest use of “non compose mentis†that I could find is in a printed 1785 statute. The poor typesetter, having got “non compos mentis†right the first time that it occurred in the boring, lawyerly sentence, slipped on the second occurrence, substituting the more familiar “compose:â€
The Archives of Maryland “it shall and may be lawful for the chancellor, upon the petition of the mortagee or mortgagees, or any person claiming under the mortgage, after summoning the infant, and his appearance by guardian, to be appointed by the chancellor for that purpose, and to answer and defend on the part of such infant, or after the appearance of such person, being idiot, lunatic, or non compos mentis, by the trustee or trustees, or committee of such person being idiot, lunatic, or non compose mentis, to be appointed by the chancellor on behalf of such person,”
Perhaps he was thinking of how little he was being paid to compose type.
“Non compose mentis†occurs in other legal documents on the web. It also occurs frequently (dozens of times) in non-legal documents. These two are instructive:
Post on a political site “Flubbed his oath just like he flubbed and appointed Clintonistas to head his administration. He will continue to flub because he is so incompetent. Obama = Non Compose Mentis.â€
A post attacking Lindsay Lohan “oh, yeah, and disney fired her. she is persona non grata…and non compose mentis, but that goes without saying.â€
The lesson? If you going to throw vitriol, make sure you pick up the right bottle.
Two other random examples:
An essay on Hamlet “ If the deceased were ruled insane, however, he would be found innocent ( non compose mentis ) and might be given Christian burial.â€
Class notes for a legal medicine course “ Non-compose mentis – (non competent mentally)- can ignore patient’s desire to discontinue treatment in those cases;â€
“Compos†and “compose,†by the way, are not cognates. “Compos†is from L. “com†(with) + “potis†(power), “compose†derives from L. “com†+ “poser†(put, place).
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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