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• mensa
  mensa

  noun

  the flat stone forming the top of the altar in a Roman Catholic church.
• Mensa
  Mensa

  noun

  an international fellowship organization for people with IQ's in the top 2 percent of the general population.

mensa

¹ American  

[men-suh] / ˈmɛn sə /

noun

• mensas,
  plural
• mensae,
  plural
• Mensae
  genitive

1. Also called altar stone, altar slab. the flat stone forming the top of the altar in a Roman Catholic church.

2. (initial capital letter) the Table, a southern constellation near Octans.

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Mensa ² American  

[men-suh] / ˈmɛn sə /

noun

1. an international fellowship organization for people with IQ's in the top 2 percent of the general population.

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Mensa ¹ British  

/ ˈmɛnsə /

noun

1. a faint constellation in the S hemisphere lying between Hydrus and Volans and containing part of the Large Magellanic Cloud

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Mensa ² British  

/ ˈmɛnsə /

noun

1. an international society, membership of which is restricted to people whose intelligence test scores exceed those expected of 98 per cent of the population

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Mensan
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mensae
  plural
• mensas
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of mensa¹

First recorded in 1685–95; from Latin mēnsa “table”

Origin of Mensa²

From the Latin word mēnsa table, symbolizing the original conception of the society, “a round table where no one has precedence”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mensa Mensa mensae

Then at the opening of the book in the sixteenth row of the lines of the disclosed page did Panurge encounter upon this following verse: Nec Deus hunc mensa, Dea nec dignata cubili est.

From Gargantua and Pantagruel, Illustrated, Book 3 by Peter Anthony Motteux

When you had recovered substantial damages against the hawker, you would have instructed your proctor to sue in the Ecclesiastical Courts for a divorce à mensa atque thoro.

From The Jest Book The Choicest Anecdotes and Sayings by Mark Lemon

In the case of a separation a mensa et thoro alimony was allowed the wife for her support out of her husband's estate at the discretion of the ecclesiastical judges.

From A Short History of Women's Rights From the Days of Augustus to the Present Time. with Special Reference to England and the United States. Second Edition Revised, With Additions. by Eugene Arthur Hecker

They resolve upon a voluntary separation from their husbands--a practical divorce a mensa et thoro--until peace with Sparta shall be proclaimed.

From Education: How Old The New by James J. Walsh

After leaving their grove and entering the temple "in mensa sacrum fecerunt ollis"; and shortly afterwards, "in aedem intraverunt et ollas precati sunt."

From The Religious Experience of the Roman People From the Earliest Times to the Age of Augustus by W. Warde Fowler

Due out May 1, it features contributions from R&B pioneer Raphael Saadiq, pop star Khalid, rapper Vic Mensa and more.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026

Months later, he helped organize the Black Star Line Festival in Ghana, which drew 50,000 people and featured performances from Chance and Mensa along with Erykah Badu, T-Pain, Sarkodie and more.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2023

Vic Mensa has explored social work, sobriety, Ghana and himself, leading to an ambitious and self-reflective new record.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2023

Herman is a member of Mensa, the society for those who have the highest IQs in the world.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 29, 2023

In order to qualify for Mensa membership, we'd need to score in the top 2 percent of any given one.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

In the religion of the family Ovid indeed has charmingly expressed it, perhaps on the authority of some lost passage of Varro296:— ante focos olim scamnis considere longis mos erat, et mensae credere adesse deos.

From The Religious Experience of the Roman People From the Earliest Times to the Age of Augustus by W. Warde Fowler

At once O'Toole's face brightened, and with a shout of pride he reeled out, "Mensa, mensa, mensam, mensae, mensae, mensa."

From Clementina by A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley) Mason

The century writers777 make out of Dionysius Alexandrinus's epistle to Xistus, bishop of Rome, that the custom of the church of Alexandria in receiving the sacrament, was, ut mensae assisterent.

From The Works of Mr. George Gillespie (Vol. 1 of 2) by George Gillespie

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