Pronounced: AY-ree-us, adj
Notes: Not a word I knew of, but you may be able to guess the meaning
Yesterday’s word
The word climacteric means
- a major turning point or critical stage
- menopause or a period corresponding to menopause
First usage
Our word came into English in the late 1500s
Background / Comments
Our word came from the Greek word klimaktēr (critical point; literally ‘rung of a ladder’). It generally used for the big moments on the (metaphorical) ladder of life. Thus, the second definition. Once upon a time, it was thought that the climacterics in a person’s life occurred at the ages that were a either multiples of 9 or odd multiples of 7, making ’63’ (9×7) the ‘grand climacteric‘ (as is age 81 [9×9]). In reality, major changes are not tied to a specific age. I was thinking of climacterics in my life and thought of one that occurred in 2003. How about you? Can you think of moments that became a major turning point in your life?
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 