entry
mean
/miːn/Intend, signify, average, or behave cruelly
From Proto-Indo-European *meyn- / *meyno- (To think) + Proto-Indo-European *mey- (To change).
from Proto-Indo-European *meyn- (“to think”), or perhaps
from Proto-Germanic *mainijaną (“to mean, think; complain”)
from Old English mænan "intend (to
+1 more sourcefrom Middle English menen (“to intend; remember; lament; comfort”)
from Proto-Indo-European *meyn- (“to think”), or perhaps
from Proto-Germanic *gamainiz (“common”)
from Old English mǣne, ġemǣne (“common, public, general, universal”)
from Middle English menen (“to intend; remember; lament; comfort”)
Word Ancestry
from Proto-Indo-European *meyn- (“to think”), or perhaps
from Proto-Germanic *mainijaną (“to mean, think; complain”)
from Old English mænan "intend (to
+1 more sourcefrom Middle English menen (“to intend; remember; lament; comfort”)
from Proto-Indo-European *meyn- (“to think”), or perhaps
from Proto-Germanic *gamainiz (“common”)
from Old English mǣne, ġemǣne (“common, public, general, universal”)
from Middle English menen (“to intend; remember; lament; comfort”)
Two very different histories are hiding inside this tiny word. The verb mean—“intend” or “signify”—belongs to a Germanic family reaching back to a reconstructed Indo-European idea of thinking or forming an opinion; German meinen and Dutch menen still preserve the family resemblance. But mean meaning “small-minded or cruel” took a stranger route: Old English mǣne meant “common” or “shared,” and “common” gradually slid toward “ordinary,” then “inferior,” then unpleasantly ungenerous. The same semantic downhill journey appears in German gemein, which can mean both “common” and “nasty”—a linguistic reminder that calling someone ordinary has rarely been a compliment. The mathematical mean is the “typical” or central value, extending the older notion of what is common or representative: add the numbers, divide by their count, and the crowd gets one spokesperson. So when you ask, “What do you mean?”, you are invoking thought; when you call someone mean, you are echoing “common”; and when you calculate the mean, you are looking for what the group shares.
The Story
Two very different histories are hiding inside this tiny word. The verb mean—“intend” or “signify”—belongs to a Germanic family reaching back to a reconstructed Indo-European idea of thinking or forming an opinion; German meinen and Dutch menen still preserve the family resemblance. But mean meaning “small-minded or cruel” took a stranger route: Old English mǣne meant “common” or “shared,” and “common” gradually slid toward “ordinary,” then “inferior,” then unpleasantly ungenerous. The same semantic downhill journey appears in German gemein, which can mean both “common” and “nasty”—a linguistic reminder that calling someone ordinary has rarely been a compliment. The mathematical mean is the “typical” or central value, extending the older notion of what is common or representative: add the numbers, divide by their count, and the crowd gets one spokesperson. So when you ask, “What do you mean?”, you are invoking thought; when you call someone mean, you are echoing “common”; and when you calculate the mean, you are looking for what the group shares.
Modern Usage
In informal usage, exceptionally attractive, stylish, or impressive; also cruel or inconsiderate.
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Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries for mean
Kin & Kindred
From '*meyn- / *meyno-'·To think, form an opinion, or intend
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From '*mey-'·To change, exchange, or share
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary