Mentioner

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Someone who refers to a particular person, thing, or subject while speaking or writing
2. A individual who brings up or makes reference to a topic in conversation or print
3. One who names or alludes to something, often in passing, during discussion or in text

Etymology: "Mentioner" is simply "mention" with the agent suffix "-er," meaning one who performs the action. "Mention" itself came into English from Latin "mentio," a noun from "mentionem," the accusative of "mens," "mind," which is a shared root with "mental" (the same Latin source gives "mention" the sense of calling something to mind). Literally, then, a mentioner is one who brings something to mind by speaking of it. The suffix "-er" is an old and very productive English ending, inherited from Old English "-ere," that attaches to verbs to name a person or device doing the action, as in "teacher," "reader," and "bringer." Because "mention" is a verb as well as a noun, "mentioner" can be formed straightforwardly from the verb, and it is the kind of transparent formation English speakers can generate on the spot.