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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.  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

Derived Forms

• Mensan
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mensae
  plural
• mensas
  plural

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

See Examples For:

mensa Mensa mensae

But an answer was afforded by any conduct which would have supported a decree of divorce a mensa et thoro.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5 "Dinard" to "Dodsworth" by Various

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

When you had obtained a divorce à mensa atque thoro, you would have had to appear by counsel before the House of Lords for a divorce à vinculo matrimonii.

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

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

Divorce a mensa et thoro could be granted on the grounds allowed by the canon law.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5 "Dinard" to "Dodsworth" by Various

A 12-year-old football fan has joined the ranks of Mensa after scoring the maximum in an IQ test.

From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2024

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

“We made ‘Innanetape’ and ‘Acid Rap’ to inspire ourselves first, and the people after,” Mensa said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2023

“This album is a story of redemption; trial and triumph, pain and glory,” Mensa said in a statement.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 10, 2023

I used to fantasize about taking the Mensa test to prove that I wasn’t a total loser.

From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson

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

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

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