Mind, n.
Etymology: [AS. mynd, gemynd; akin to OHG. minna memory, love, G. minne love, Dan. minde mind, memory, remembrance, consent, vote, Sw. minne memory, Icel. minni, Goth. gamunds, L. mens, mentis, mind, Gr. manas mind, man to think. Comment, Man, Mean, v., 3d Mental, Mignonette, Minion, Mnemonic, Money.]
1. The intellectual or rational faculty in man; the understanding; the intellect; the power that conceives, judges, or reasons; also, the entire spiritual nature; the soul; -- often in distinction from the body. By the mind of man we understand that in him which thinks, remembers, reasons, wills. Reid. What we mean by mind is simply that which perceives, thinks, feels, wills, and desires. Sir W. Hamilton. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. Rom. xiv. 5. The mind shall banquet, though the body pine. Shak.
2. The state, at any given time, of the faculties of thinking, willing, choosing, and the like; psychical activity or state; as: (a) Opinion; judgment; belief. A fool uttereth all his mind. Prov. xxix. 11. Being so hard to me that brought your mind, I fear she'll prove as hard to you in telling her mind. Shak.
(b) Choice; inclination; liking; intent; will. If it be your minds, then let none go forth. 2 Kings ix. 15.
(c) Courage; spirit. Chapman.
1 more senses
3. Memory; remembrance; recollection; as, to have or keep in mind, to call to mind, to put in mind, etc. To have a mind or great mind, to be inclined or strongly inclined in purpose; -- used with an infinitive. "Sir Roger de Coverly... told me that he had a great mind to see the new tragedy with me." Addison. -- To lose one's mind, to become insane, or imbecile. -- To make up one's mind, to come to an opinion or decision; to determine. -- To put in mind, to remind. "Regard us simply as putting you in mind of what you already know to be good policy." Jowett (Thucyd. ).
2 other Webster entries under this spelling
Mind, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Minded; p. pr. & vb. n. Minding.]
1. To fix the mind or thoughts on; to regard with attention; to treat as of consequence; to consider; to heed; to mark; to note. "Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate." Rom. xii. 16. My lord, you nod: you do not mind the play. Shak.
2. To occupy one's self with; to employ one's self about; to attend to; as, to mind one's business. Bidding him be a good child, and mind his book. Addison.
3. To obey; as, to mind parents; the dog minds his master.
4. To have in mind; to purpose. Beaconsfield. I mind to tell him plainly what I think. Shak.
5. To put in mind; to remind. [Archaic] M. Arnold. He minded them of the mutability of all earthly things. Fuller. I do thee wrong to mind thee of it. Shak. Never mind, do not regard it; it is of no consequence; no matter.
Syn. -- To notice; mark; regard; obey. See Attend.
Mind, v. i.
To give attention or heed; to obey; as, the dog minds well.
Shades of meaning
Mind, in a general sense, includes all the powers of sentient being apart from the physical factors in bodily faculties and activities; in a limited sense, mind is nearly synonymous with intellect, but includes disposition, or the tendency toward action, as appears in the phrase "to have a mind to work." As the seat of mental activity, brain (colloquially brains) is often used as a synonym for mind, intellect, intelligence. Thought, the act, process, or power of thinking, is often used to denote the thinking faculty, and especially the reason. The instinct of animals is now held by many philosophers to be of the same nature as the intellect of man, but inferior and limited; yet the apparent difference is very great.
An instinct is a propensity prior to experience and independent of instruction.
PALEY Natural Philosophy ch. 18.
In this sense we speak of human instincts, thus denoting tendencies independent of reasoning or instruction. The soul includes the intellect, sensibilities, and will; beyond what is expressed by the word mind, the soul denotes especially the moral, the immortal nature; we say of a dead body, the soul (not the mind) has fled. Spirit is used especially in contradistinction from matter; it may in many cases be substituted for soul, but soul has commonly a fuller and more determinate meaning; we can conceive of spirits as having no moral nature; the fairies, elves, and brownies of mythology might be termed spirits, but not souls. In the figurative sense, spirit denotes animation, excitability, perhaps impatience; as, a lad of spirit; he sang with spirit; he replied with spirit. Soul denotes energy and depth of feeling, as when we speak of soulful eyes; or it may denote the very life of anything; as, "the hidden soul of harmony," MILTON L'Allegro l. 144. Sense may be an antonym of intellect, as when we speak of the sense of hearing; but sense is used also as denoting clear mental action, good judgment, acumen; as, he is a man of sense, or, he showed good sense; sense, even in its material signification, must be reckoned among the activities of mind, tho dependent on bodily functions; the mind, not the eye, really sees; the mind, not the ear, really hears. Consciousness includes all that a sentient being perceives, knows, thinks, or feels, from whatever source arising and of whatever character, kind, or degree, whether with or without distinct thinking, feeling, or willing; we speak of the consciousness of the brute, of the savage, or of the sage. The intellect is that assemblage of faculties which is concerned with knowledge, as distinguished from emotion and volition. Understanding is the Saxon word of the same general import, but is chiefly used of the reasoning powers; the understanding, which Sir Wm. Hamilton has called "the faculty of relations and comparisons," is distinguished by many philosophers from reason in that "reason is the faculty of the higher cognitions or a priori truth."