mentorem

Mentorem is a Latin noun borrowed from the Greek Mentor, meaning a guide or adviser. In Latin usage, mentorm denotes a person who provides guidance or instruction. The concept of a mentor as a guiding figure derives from the Greek myth of Mentor, a trusted adviser of Odysseus who assisted Telemachus.

Mentor is treated as a third-declension noun. The forms include nominative mentor, genitive mentoris, dative mentori, accusative mentorem, and ablative mentore. The accusative singular mentorem is the form used when the noun functions as the direct object, for example: Puer mentorem quaerebat, “The boy was seeking a mentor.”

In classical Latin, the term is not especially common; writers more often express the idea with magister, praeceptor, or consiliarius. In later Latin or in modern Latin dictionaries and glossaries, mentorem may be used to translate the English “mentor” or to preserve references to the Greek Mentor. Some sources treat mentōr as a loanword for the specific figure, while others prefer descriptive phrases such as magister consilii or praeceptor vitae. The word thus functions primarily in linguistic or philological contexts rather than as a staple term of everyday classical prose.