Mende

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A West African ethnic group living mainly in the southern and eastern parts of Sierra Leone and in neighboring Liberia
2. The name of a West African people of Sierra Leone and Liberia, known for their farming and their distinctive traditions
3. Refers to an ethnic community of West Africa whose homeland lies largely in southern Sierra Leone and adjoining Liberia

Etymology: Mende is a place name, and the word is simply a borrowing of it. The town of Mende, in the Lozère department of southern France, is the place it points to. The name comes to English through French, which took it from Occitan, the language of the region, so the town's own name is the root of the word. The word also appears in German as "Mende," which English borrowed from German as well. Where the English word was first used in its present sense, and what the word refers to in its own right, are not given in the material available here, so the account stops at the place itself.