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- Despite the similarity [noted by Johnson] to the Latin legal phrase non compos mentis "insane, mentally incompetent" (c. 1600), the connection is denied by the OED's etymologists because the earliest forms lack the second -n-.
www.etymonline.com/word/nincompoop
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Was nincompoop a corruption of the Latin 'non compos mentis'?
Where did the word nincompoop come from?
What does non compos mentis mean?
Is nincompoop a meaningless word?
Does 'non compos' sound like 'nincompoop'?
When did nincompoop come out?
No less a person than the famous lexicographer Samuel Johnson in 1775 tried to make a case that it was a corruption of the Latin non compos mentis, which was widely used by doctors and lawyers in everyday speech and often shortened to non compos.
Dec 9, 2023 · Despite the similarity [noted by Johnson] to the Latin legal phrase non compos mentis "insane, mentally incompetent" (c. 1600), the connection is denied by the OED's etymologists because the earliest forms lack the second -n-.
Sep 27, 2024 · The English lexicographer Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) suggested that the first element might be from Latin non compos (mentis) (“ not of sound mind ”), but the Oxford English Dictionary notes that this does not correspond with early forms of the word from the 16th century such as nickumpoop and nicompoop.
Many writers have tried hard to find an origin for it, though most dictionaries play safe and list it as “origin unknown”. The good Dr Johnson, in his famous Dictionary of 1755, said it was from Latin non compos, as in the medical and legal phrase non compos mentis, not mentally competent.
Non compos mentis is a Latin legal phrase that translates to "of unsound mind": nōn ("not") prefaces compos mentis, meaning "having control of one's mind." This phrase was used in English law as early as the seventeenth century to describe people afflicted by madness , the loss of memory or ability to reason.
It is conceivable that the originator of “nincompoop” was seeking to combine several unsophisticated words into one nonsensical but descriptive word. Others believe the word was a corruption of the Latin phrase non compos mentis, meaning “not of sound mind.”
Jul 7, 2019 · Despite the similarity [noted by Johnson] to the Latin legal phrase non compos mentis "insane, mentally incompetent" (c. 1600), the connection is denied by the OED's etymologists because the earliest forms lack the second -n-.
