dement meaning (archaic): definition, etymology and quotations

dement

adj

UK /dɪˈmɛnt/ · US /dəˈmɛnt/

Etymology Borrowed from Middle French dement, from Latin demens; verb from Vulgar Latin dementare (“to deceive; to drive mad”), also from Latin dēmēns (“demented, mad”).

Archaic Demented.

dement

verb

Etymology Borrowed from Middle French dement, from Latin demens; verb from Vulgar Latin dementare (“to deceive; to drive mad”), also from Latin dēmēns (“demented, mad”).

To make (someone) demented; to drive mad.

Medicine, Sciences To show signs of dementia; to develop dementia.

Derived terms: dementor
Related terms: dementation

dement

noun

Etymology Borrowed from Middle French dement, from Latin demens; verb from Vulgar Latin dementare (“to deceive; to drive mad”), also from Latin dēmēns (“demented, mad”).

Medicine, Sciences Archaic Someone afflicted with dementia.

The patients are more or less chronic dements, sufficiently harmless and trustworthy to be employed in farm labour and sufficiently intelligent to be of use.1921, Montagu Lomax, The Experiences of an Asylum Doctor, London: Allen & Unwin, page 115:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.