entry
mentor
/ˈmɛn.tɔr/Experienced adviser who guides a less-experienced person
From Proto-Indo-European *mon-eyo- (One who thinks).
from PIE *mon-eyo- (source also of Sanskrit man-tar- "one who thinks," Latin mon-i-tor "one who admonishes"), causative...
from Ancient Greek Μέντωρ (Méntōr, “Mentor”), a mythological character in the Odyssey, whose name, a historical name
from French mentor
Word Ancestry
from PIE *mon-eyo- (source also of Sanskrit man-tar- "one who thinks," Latin mon-i-tor "one who admonishes"), causative...
from Ancient Greek Μέντωρ (Méntōr, “Mentor”), a mythological character in the Odyssey, whose name, a historical name
from French mentor
In Homer’s Odyssey, Mentor is the trusted friend of Odysseus who looks after the young Telemachus while his father is away—and there is a wonderfully strange twist: the goddess Athena often appears in Mentor’s disguise. The name sat in Greek literature for centuries before French and English writers revived it; by 1750, English had turned a mythological proper name into a common noun. Its deeper family tree reaches back to Proto-Indo-European *men-, “to think,” alongside Latin monitor, the source of a word for someone who warns or admonishes. So a mentor is not merely a teacher: the ancient idea is someone who makes another person think, notices danger, and points toward better judgment. The next time someone says “find a mentor,” imagine Athena arriving in an ordinary friend’s clothing—with excellent career advice.
The Story
In Homer’s Odyssey, Mentor is the trusted friend of Odysseus who looks after the young Telemachus while his father is away—and there is a wonderfully strange twist: the goddess Athena often appears in Mentor’s disguise. The name sat in Greek literature for centuries before French and English writers revived it; by 1750, English had turned a mythological proper name into a common noun. Its deeper family tree reaches back to Proto-Indo-European *men-, “to think,” alongside Latin monitor, the source of a word for someone who warns or admonishes. So a mentor is not merely a teacher: the ancient idea is someone who makes another person think, notices danger, and points toward better judgment. The next time someone says “find a mentor,” imagine Athena arriving in an ordinary friend’s clothing—with excellent career advice.
Modern Usage
A person who influences or teaches a learning mind; also a local or institutional title in one Urban Dictionary entry
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries use mentor as both a noun and a verb
Kin & Kindred
From '*mon-eyo-'·One who thinks; adviser or warner
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary