menstruum meaning and definition

MENSTRUUM noun

Definition of menstruum (noun)

1. (archaic) a solvent
2. 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
   • synonyms: catamenia, flow, menses, menstruation, period