Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun plural The material, consisting of blood and cellular debris from the uterus, discharged during menstruation.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Catamenial or monthly discharges; a periodic constitutional flow of blood or bloody fluid from the mucous coat of the uterus of a female, as a woman, monkey, bitch, or other mammal.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun plural (Med.) The catamenial or menstrual discharge, a periodic flow of blood or bloody fluid from the uterus or female generative organs.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The discharge of blood mixed with pieces of cellular tissue from the uterus of a female out through her vagina, which occurs roughly every month; menstrual flow.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

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

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin mēnsēs, pl. of mēnsis, month; see mē- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin mensis ("month"), the plural being menses ("months"), corresponding to the monthly courses of women. Confer month.

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