compos mentis

English

Etymology

From Latin compos (“in control, having mastery”) + mentis (“of mind”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɒmpɒs ˈmɛntɪs/

Adjective

compos mentis (not comparable)

1. (law) Of sound mind, sane; thus fully accountable (legally and/or morally) for one's deeds.
   • 1810, [anonymous] […], chapter XXVIII, in Splendid Follies. A Novel, […]. Founded on Facts., volume III, London: […] J[ames] F[letcher] Hughes, […], →OCLC, pages 112–113:

     ‘[…] you have my hearty consent, sir, to marry the girl whensumdever it’s convenient.’ Dame Mayrose finished her speech with a low courtesy, and Tom Sponge sat like a petrified image. ‘For God’s sake, Mrs. Mayrose, are you compos mentis?’ said he. ‘Please your honour, I don’t understand no foreign languages,’ said the good woman, ‘but my darter tells me you want to make proposhalls.’

Antonyms

• non compos mentis

Translations

of sound mind

• Arabic: عاقِل (ar) (ʕāqil)
• Dutch: toerekenbaar (nl), toerekeningsvatbaar (nl)
• Finnish: syyntakeinen (fi), täydessä ymmärryksessä
• German: zurechnungsfähig (de), schuldfähig (de), compos mentis
• Polish: poczytalny (pl)
• Swedish: tillräknelig (sv)

References

• The Chambers Dictionary, 9th Ed., 2003