mensa
noun
the flat stone forming the top of the altar in a Roman Catholic church.
mensa
1 American
[men-suh]
/ ˈmɛn sə /
noun
-
mensas,
plural
-
mensae,
plural
-
Mensae
genitive
-
Also called altar stone. Also called altar slab,. the flat stone forming the top of the altar in a Roman Catholic church.
-
(initial capital letter) the Table, a southern constellation near Octans.
Mensa
2
American
[men-suh]
/ ˈmɛn sə /
noun
Mensa
1
British
/ ˈmɛnsə /
noun
Mensa
2
British
/ ˈmɛnsə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She had long been living with the Duke, but in 1769 she obtained a divorce a mensa et thoro, which she believed erroneously annulled the marriage.
From Lady Mary Wortley Montague Her Life and Letters (1689-1762) by Lewis Melville
It is so named because of the regularity of its recurrence, the word mensa meaning a month.
From Sane Sex Life and Sane Sex Living Some Things That All Sane People Ought to Know About Sex Nature and Sex Functioning; Its Place in the Economy of Life, Its Proper Training and Righteous Exercise by H. W. (Harland William) Long
So he pulled out two three-legged stools, and very soon I was trying to fix my wandering wits and decline mensa.
From Noughts and Crosses Stories, Studies and Sketches by Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
This "separation" is really the direct descendant of the Canon law divorce a mensa et thoro, and the inability to marry which it involves is merely a survival of the Canon law tradition.
From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 6 Sex in Relation to Society by Havelock Ellis
—Separatio a mensa et a thalamo, bettered Buck Mulligan and was smiled on.
From Ulysses by James Joyce
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
On his personal website, Polito wrote at length about his favorite topics, rarely failing to mention membership in the Mensa society for people with high IQs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
Across 18 tracks, Mensa explores culture, sobriety, Ghana, home and himself, leading to his most zealous work to date.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 10, 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
The tests we took were designed to determine our eligibility for Mensa, an international association for those with IQs of 132 or higher.
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
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.
