mensa

¹ American  

[men-suh] / ˈmɛn sə /

noun

plural

mensas, mensae,

genitive

Mensae

1. Also called altar stone.  Also called 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

• Mensan noun

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”

Example Sentences

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 Hecker, Eugene Arthur

In this country the problem is to decline "penna:" in Germany "mensa" is the word.

From Black Forest Village Stories by Auerbach, Berthold

Would not the discomfort of meals eaten with a companion who could swallow nothing justify a divorce a mensa?

From Somehow Good by De Morgan, William Frend

This was mostly of silver, the mensa only being of marble.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Exeter A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See by Addleshaw, Percy

In mensa etiam succinctam faciens refectionem, quasi religiosus cum concitata surrectione silentium servans stando Deo gratias totiens quotiens devotissime persolvit.

From Henry the Sixth A Reprint of John Blacman's Memoir with Translation and Notes by James, M. R. (Montague Rhodes)