MENSTRUUM (menstrua)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: menstrua   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does menstruum mean? 

• MENSTRUUM (noun)
  The noun MENSTRUUM has 2 senses:

1. (archaic) a solvent

2. the monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women from puberty to menopause

  Familiarity information: MENSTRUUM used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MENSTRUUM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(archaic) a solvent

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("menstruum" is a kind of...):

dissolvent; dissolver; dissolving agent; resolvent; solvent (a liquid substance capable of dissolving other substances)

Domain usage:

archaicism; archaism (the use of an archaic expression)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women from puberty to menopause

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

catamenia; flow; menses; menstruation; menstruum; period

Context example:

the semen begins to appear in males and to be emitted at the same time of life that the catamenia begin to flow in females

Hypernyms ("menstruum" is a kind of...):

discharge; emission; expelling (any of several bodily processes by which substances go out of the body)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "menstruum"):

hypermenorrhea; menorrhagia (abnormally heavy or prolonged menstruation; can be a symptom of uterine tumors and can lead to anemia if prolonged)

oligomenorrhea (abnormally light or infrequent menstruation)

 Context examples 

A concentrated preparation of vegetable or animal drugs obtained by removal of the active constituents of the respective drugs with a suitable menstrua, evaporation of all or nearly all of the solvent, and adjustment of the residual masses or powders to the prescribed standards.

(Extract Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)