English
menopausal
Menopausal comes from French ménopause, from Latin pausa ‘a pause, halt, stop, cessation, end’, and ultimately from Ancient Greek παύω.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαύωpaúō‘to make an end of, stop, abate’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπαῦσιςpaûsis‘stopping, ceasing’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpausa‘a pause, halt, stop, cessation, end’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentménopause
- English1500–presentmenopause
- Englishearliest quotation 2023menopausal
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαύωpaúō‘to make an end of, stop, abate’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπαῦσιςpaûsis‘stopping, ceasing’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpausa‘a pause, halt, stop, cessation, end’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentménopause
- English1500–presentmenopause
- Englishearliest quotation 2023menopausal
Earliest quotation: 2023, Charles Hymas, Menopausal female offenders could be spared jail under new s: “And in March last year, 62-year-old Sue Williams scratched…”
A compound of menopause + -al
Ancient Greek παύω ‘to make an end of, stop, abate’
Ancient Greek παῦσις ‘stopping, ceasing’
Latin pausa ‘a pause, halt, stop, cessation, end’
French ménopause
English menopause
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- ‘few, little’
few, poor, fewer, puppy, pupil, puppet, pediatrics, filly, pedagogy, pave, puerile, orthopedics, pupa, paucity, 29 more
through Ancient Greek παύω ‘to make an end of, stop, abate’
through Ancient Greek παῦσις ‘stopping, ceasing’
through Latin pausa ‘a pause, halt, stop, cessation, end’
Today it means
adj Of, or pertaining to the menopause.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek παύω / menopausal