# When did mentee become a word? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 24, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mentee-become-a-word/705452 "2014-11-24T00:38:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mentee-become-a-word/705452/21 "2014-11-25T22:51:19Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > Can’t pretty much any word be coined by adding -ee to mean ‘a person who is the direct object of some action’? We create neologisms all the time that aren’t in the dictionary. True, true – the problem is that “ment” isn’t an action. A “ment-or” isn’t somebody who ments, which causes the “ment-ee” = object of menting to collapse. ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mentee-become-a-word/705452/22 "2014-11-25T22:54:16Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > NSFW joke: > > Two newly-minted lawyers are at the sports bar, shooting the breeze and bragging about their cases. > > Lawyer #1: I’m working on a rape case now. > > Lawyer #2:So, are you representing the fuckor or the fuckee? When I was young and newly married I came home from looking for work one day and my wife said “They are looking for a rapist right here in this neighborhood.” So I asked her how much it paid. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mentee-become-a-word/705452/23 "2014-11-25T23:53:08Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > True, true – the problem is that “ment” isn’t an action. A “ment-or” isn’t somebody who ments, which causes the “ment-ee” = object of menting to collapse. The whole word “mentor” can be used as a verb. I suppose then that “mentoror” and “mentoree” would be the more correct construction. In fact, those sound more natural to me than “mentee” but fighting against stupid industry buzzwords is like trying to use a bucket to stop the tide from rising. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mentee-become-a-word/705452/24 "2014-11-26T00:10:17Z")
“Advisee” is [nearly 200 years old](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advisee). I certainly don’t bat an eye at it, and I use it regularly enough in my professional life. “Mentee” is [50 years old](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mentee). Personally, I grimace a bit when I hear it. When I use it, I say it with a knowing tone. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mentee-become-a-word/705452/25 "2014-11-26T06:27:34Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > (I tried to think of legitimate -or/-ee pairings, and couldn’t come up with any. I know they’re out there but I’m just drawing a blank.) There are a few, mostly legal terms: advisor advisee assignor assignee consignor consignee devisor devisee grantor grantee guarantor guarantee (in the sense of someone to whom a guarantee is made) lessor lessee licensor licensee mortgagor mortgagee obligor obligee transferor transferee warrantor warrantee [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mentee-become-a-word/705452.md?page=1)