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mint

MINT · noun

LatinOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Origin

The money sense of mint comes from Old English mynet ("coin"), from Latin monēta, meaning coined money, which itself came from the temple of Juno Moneta, where Roman coins were struck. The herb sense is a separate word entirely, from Old English minte, from Latin menta, likely borrowed from a lost Mediterranean language, possibly by way of Greek mínthē.

Journey

The coinage sense moved from a temple's name, to the general Latin word for coined money, to the English word for both the place where money is made and the money itself.

Related words

Mint (money) is a doublet of money and manat — all descend from the same Latin monēta. The plant mint is unrelated, a doublet instead of mentha.

More words

From Old English

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