men

Men- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “month.” It is used in a few medical terms, specifically in references to menstruation.

Men- comes from the Greek mḗn, meaning “month.” It’s distantly related to the English word moon, itself related to the word month. Many calendars, both in the past and present, are based on the cycles of the moon.

Menstruation is the periodic flow (known as menses) of blood and other substances from the uterus, which happens approximately every month in women of certain ages. Indeed, both menstruation and menses derive from the Latin mēnsis, meaning “month.”

Men- is a variant of meno-, which loses its –o– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use meno- article.

The combining form men- is rare. One example of combining form men- can be found in the word menarche, meaning “the first menstrual period.”

The first part of the word, men-, refers to “menstruation.” The second part of the word, arche, comes from the Greek word for “beginning.” Menarche means “beginning of menstruation.”

What are some words that use the combining form men-?

• menacme

What are some other forms that men- may be commonly confused with?

• -ment
• mer-
• mes-

Many other words begin with the letters men- but do not use men- as a combining form to refer to menstruation. Menial, menace, and mental are just three examples. And the word men, plural of man, is entirely spelled with the letters m-e-n, but has nothing to do with months or menses.

Menarche is the period of a woman’s life when she starts menstruating. Menopause is when menstruating ends. What is menacme?