climacteric English · revision 1075

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /klaɪmækˈtɛɹɪk/, /klaɪˈmæktəɹɪk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|climactericus|t=of a critical period]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|κλιμακτηρικός|tr=klimaktērikós]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''klimaktḗr'' “rung of a ladder; critical point in life”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''klîmax'' “ladder”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) It is related to [[climax]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As an adjective, constituting a critical period in human life, as in ''climacteric year'' (1601; 1582 in Merriam-Webster).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The critical years were variously reckoned as multiples of seven or nine, and the ''grand climacteric'' was the 63rd or 81st year.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) The noun, a critical stage of life, is recorded from about 1630.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) In 19th-century medicine it meant especially the time of declining vital forces, the [[menopause]],^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and it is now also used of a corresponding period in men.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) In botany it names the rise in respiration just before fruit ripens fully.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1582 – adjective, critical (Merriam-Webster).^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1601 – a climacteric year.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * about 1630 – noun, a critical stage.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1813 – the time of life when vital forces decline.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The period of life marking the end of a woman's reproductive capacity; [[menopause]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A corresponding period in men.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A critical stage or turning point, or a year thought to bring great changes in health or fortune.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The rise in respiration of fruit just before it fully ripens.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or relating to a climacteric.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Critical; crucial.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[climacterically]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[climax]]

+ * [[climactic]]

+ * [[menopause]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}