climacteric

Pronunciation

• IPA: /klaɪmækˈtɛɹɪk/, /klaɪˈmæktəɹɪk/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin climactericus (“of a critical period”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Ancient Greek κλιμακτηρικός (klimaktērikós),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from klimaktḗr “rung of a ladder; critical point in life”,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from klîmax “ladder”.^[2][3][4][5] It is related to climax.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adjective, constituting a critical period in human life, as in climacteric year (1601; 1582 in Merriam-Webster).^[3][7][5]

Semantic evolution

The critical years were variously reckoned as multiples of seven or nine, and the grand climacteric was the 63rd or 81st year.^[4][6] The noun, a critical stage of life, is recorded from about 1630.^[3][4][7][5] In 19th-century medicine it meant especially the time of declining vital forces, the menopause,^[7][4] and it is now also used of a corresponding period in men.^[2][5][6] In botany it names the rise in respiration just before fruit ripens fully.^[5][6]

Timeline

• 1582 – adjective, critical (Merriam-Webster).^[5]
• 1601 – a climacteric year.^[3][7]
• about 1630 – noun, a critical stage.^[3][7][5]
• 1813 – the time of life when vital forces decline.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The period of life marking the end of a woman's reproductive capacity; menopause.
2. A corresponding period in men.
3. A critical stage or turning point, or a year thought to bring great changes in health or fortune.
4. The rise in respiration of fruit just before it fully ripens.

Adjective

1. Of or relating to a climacteric.
2. Critical; crucial.

Word family

• climacterically

Related words

• climax
• climactic
• menopause

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press