meninges
Americanplural noun
singular
meninxplural noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of meninges
1610–20; < New Latin < Greek mḗninges, plural of mêninx membrane
Explanation
The protective membranes that surround your brain and spinal cord are called meninges. Your meninges do an important job — helping to keep your nervous system safe from harm. The illness known as meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges that's caused by a viral or bacterial infection. This condition can be serious because of how close the brain is to the meninges and how vital they are for protecting it. The Greek root, meninx, means "membrane."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Albayram has spent years studying lymphatic vessels within the meninges.
From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2026
Meningitis is the swelling of the meninges – the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord – and it is usually caused by a bacterial infection.
From BBC • Oct. 5, 2025
It’s often a meningoencephalitis—which is a serious inflammation and swelling of both the brain and the meninges.
From Scientific American • May 22, 2023
The meninges comprise three layers that surround the brain: pia, arachnoid and dura.
From Salon • Nov. 20, 2022
No better illustration is needed to show that the disease we have been studying is far more than a local inflammation of the cerebro-spinal meninges.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
