'Menstruum' definitions:
Definition of 'menstruum'
(from WordNet)
noun
(archaic) a solvent
noun
The monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women from puberty to menopause; "the women were sickly and subject to excessive menstruation"; "a woman does not take the gout unless her menses be stopped"--Hippocrates; "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"-- Aristotle [syn: menstruation, menses, menstruum, catamenia, period, flow]
Definition of 'Menstruum'
From: GCIDE
- Menstruum \Men"stru*um\, n.; pl. E. Menstruums, L. Menstrua. [L. menstruus. See Menstruous.] Any substance which dissolves a solid body; a solvent. [1913 Webster]
- The proper menstruum to dissolve metal. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
- All liquors are called menstruums which are used as dissolvents, or to extract the virtues of ingredients by infusion or decoction. --Quincy. [1913 Webster]
- Note: The use is supposed to have originated in some notion of the old chemists about the influence of the moon in the preparation of dissolvents. --Johnson. [1913 Webster]