Non compos mentis

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The term non compos mentis comes from Latin, non meaning "not," compos meaning "in control," and mentis, genitive singular of mens, mind, and means not having a sound mind; not sane.

Although it is used as a legal term, it can also be used colloquially. In its colloquial form the expression is often less severe than the strict legal sense. For example, "He was not fully compos mentis as he was still suffering from a hangover" means he was not fully in charge of his faculties. Another example, using the negative form, is "I'm feeling a bit non compos mentis today," meaning "I'm feeling a bit out of it" or "...a bit spaced out".

In English law, the rule of non compos mentis was most commonly used when the defendant invoked religious or magical explanations for behaviour; a concept which encountered difficulties when exported to the colonies, where such motivations were commonplace.

An example of colloquial usage comes from Guy Ritchie's 1998 film, "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" in which one of several pot-growing characters gestures to a wasted girl and asks, "Is she compos?"

The colloquial word nincompoop = "stupid person" may be (authorities differ on this) a distorted form of non compos mentis. Not to be confused with "compost mentis."

Non Compos Mentis is also a segment on the FUEL TV show American Misfits featuring Pro Skateboarder Jason Jesse.

In Issac Asimov's Sucker Bait novella, the character Mark Annuncio uses the word 'noncompos' to insult persons outside of the Mnemonic Service. It is a abbreviation of the above phrase.