Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “menopause” come from?

Menopause comes from French ménopause, from Latin menopausis, from Ancient Greek μήν meaning "month," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mḗh₁n̥s.

menopause (English): The period in a woman's life when menstruation...

Definitions

  1. The period in a woman's life when menstruation...

Ancestry of “menopause”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchménopausemenopause
2French-pause-pause
3Latinpausaa pause, halt, stop, cessation, end
4Ancient Greekπαῦσιςstopping, ceasing
5Ancient Greek-σῐς"suffix forming nouns"
6Ancient Greek-τιςEarlier form of -σις , retained after dentals δ,...
7Proto-Indo-European-tisDerives abstract/action nouns from verb roots

Words derived from “menopause”

  • postmenopausal
  • menopausal
  • premenopausal
  • perimenopausal
  • perimenopause
  • postmenopause
  • premenopause
  • postmenopausally
  • menopausally
  • nonmenopausal
  • menopaused
  • menopausing
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tis →