Search results
- Dictionarynon compos mentis/ˌnɒn kɒmpəs ˈmɛntɪs/
adjective
- 1. not sane or in one's right mind.
Powered by Oxford Dictionaries
NON COMPOS MENTIS definition: 1. Someone who is non compos mentis is unable to think clearly, especially because of mental…. Learn more.
non compos mentis. adjective. non com· pos men· tis ˈnän-ˈkäm-pəs-ˈmen-təs. : not of sound mind : lacking mental ability to understand the nature, consequences, and effect of a situation or transaction. Etymology. Latin, literally, not having mastery of one's mind.
Non compos mentis is a Latin legal phrase that translates to "of unsound mind": nōn ("not") prefaces compos mentis, meaning "having control of one's mind." This phrase was used in English law as early as the seventeenth century to describe people afflicted by madness, the loss of memory or ability to reason. [1]
When someone is non compos mentis, they are not sane or rational. When a person is declared by a judge to be non compos mentis, they can't legally speak for themselves.
A phrase used to describe someone who is out of his or her mind and therefore not legally responsible for his or her actions: “It was determined by the court that the killer was non compos mentis.”
A Latin phrase used to describe someone who is legally insane or not capable of managing their personal affairs or participating in a trial. How to use "non compos mentis" in a sentence. The defense argued that the accused was non compos mentis at the time of the offense.
Crazy; mentally incapacitated and therefore unable to be responsible for one’s speech or actions. This term is an abbreviation of the Latin non compos mentis, literally translated as “not master of one’s mind,” or “not of sound mind.”
