🧠 Words About the Mind and Thinking

Thoughts You Can’t Touch but Sure Can Trip Over

There’s a lot going on up in that noggin of yours. Whether you’re daydreaming, solving puzzles, or forgetting where you put your keys (again), your brain is working overtime. And lucky for us, English has a whole quiltwork of words to describe that invisible activity — most of which come from old, old places, and carry stories as rich as grandma’s stew.

Let’s start where we left off… then keep on going deeper into the attic of the mind.

Mind

We begin with mind, from Old English mynd, which meant “memory” or “remembrance.” This wasn’t just your thoughts — it was your inner storage room. Even further back, we find the Proto-Germanic root ga-mundiz, where mund- meant “hand” or “protection.” It was the place where you held things you didn’t want to lose — thoughts, names, moments.

From that same idea of holding things, we get remind, memory, and commemorate (Latin memorare, “to remember together”).

Think & Thought

Now here’s a pair you use every day: think and thought. They come from the Old English word þencan (pronounced “thenk-an”), which meant “to conceive in the mind.” That little þ was called a thorn — it made the “th” sound.

Back in the old days, thought wasn’t just mental activity — it was planning, intention, even grief. The phrase “I give it some thought” still echoes those early days when thinking was a slow, serious business.

Forget

We all do it. And the word forget has a fascinating past. It comes from Old English forgietan — made of for- (a prefix meaning “away” or “completely”) and getan (“to grasp or get”). So when you forget something, you’ve completely un-grasped it — like dropping your thoughts behind you as you walk through a field.

Mental

Mental comes from Latin mens, which simply meant “mind.” It’s a plain little word in Latin, but it grew up into a whole garden of English words:

• Mentor (originally from Greek Mentor, a wise friend in Homer’s Odyssey)
  
  

• Mention (a little something brought to mind)
  
  

• Demented (de- “away from” + mens = out of your mind)
  
  

• Comment (com- “with” + ment = to share your thoughts)
  
  

Memorize & Recall

To memorize something is to try and nail it to the wall of your mind. It comes from Latin memorare, which again means “to call to mind.”

Recall, meanwhile, is exactly what it sounds like: re- (again) + call (as in calling something back to you). So when you recall someone’s name, you’re calling it out of the shadows where it’s been hiding.

Souvenir

Now here’s a surprise: the word souvenir is French for “memory.” It comes from the Latin subvenire — “to come to mind.” So when you bring home a little seashell from your trip to Florida, it’s not just a trinket — it’s a memory in your pocket.

Perception

From Latin percipere: per- (completely) + capere (to seize or grasp). So to perceive is to fully grab onto something with your senses. It’s your brain saying, “Ah, I got it!” That root capere also gave us capture, accept, concept, and receive — all words about getting hold of something, either physically or mentally.

Cognition & Know

We’ve already met these brainy siblings. Both come from Latin cognoscere, meaning “to get to know.”

• Cognition is the process of knowing.
  
  

• Recognize means “to know again” (re- + cognoscere)
  
  

• Ignore literally means “to not know” (in- + gnoscere)
  
  

• Diagnose means “to know through” (dia- = through)
  
  

These are the words that run the switchboard in your head — processing everything you see, feel, and puzzle over.

Psychology

Now here’s a ten-dollar word. Psychology comes from Greek psyche (soul or mind) and logos (study or word). So it means “the study of the soul” — though these days it’s more about behavior, emotions, and that tricky brain of yours.

Psyche originally meant “breath” — the breath of life, the soul fluttering inside you like a butterfly. In fact, in ancient Greek art, psyche was often drawn with wings.

Distract

This one comes from Latin distrahere: dis- (“apart”) + trahere (“to pull”). To be distracted is to have your mind pulled in different directions — like a wagon being yanked by too many donkeys.

Abstract

Here’s its cousin. Abstract comes from Latin abstrahere: ab- (“away”) + trahere (“to pull”). So an abstract idea is one that has been pulled away from the concrete. Something you can’t touch — like “freedom” or “truth” or “beauty.” It’s floating above us somewhere.

Tangible / Intangible

Tangible comes from Latin tangere, which means “to touch.” It’s the same root we see in:

• Contact (con- + tangere = touching together)
  
  

• Tactile (able to be touched)
  
  

• Intact (not touched or harmed)
  
  

So intangible means “can’t be touched.” And we use it all the time to describe things like love, honor, or good vibes.

Intellect & Intelligence

Both words are from Latin intelligere, which means “to understand.” That word comes from inter- (between) + legere (to choose or read). So to be intelligent is to choose between things wisely.

Intellect is the part of your mind that does the choosing. Smart little root!

Brainstorm & Mindset

Let’s end with a couple newer coinages.

Brainstorm showed up in the late 1800s. Originally, it meant a sudden mental disturbance — like a flash of madness. But nowadays, it’s a happy word: a sudden flash of creative lightning.

Mindset, on the other hand, is your mental stance — the way your mind is set, like a compass needle pointing in a certain direction. It’s not old Latin or Greek, but it’s mighty powerful just the same.

So there we are: a whole harvest of words for thinking, remembering, forgetting, and wondering. The mind may be invisible, but its fingerprints are all over our language — reaching back to the Greeks, the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, and beyond.

Next time you forget where you left your keys, just smile and say, “Ah well — I must’ve un-grasped them!”