mensa

¹

[ men-suh ]

noun

genitive: Mensaeplural: mensas mensae [men, -see]

1. Also called altar slab,. the flat stone forming the top of the altar in a Roman Catholic church.
2. genitive Mensae (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the Table, a southern constellation near Octans.

Mensa

²

[ men-suh ]

noun

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

Mensa

¹

/ 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

Mensa

²

/ ˈmɛnsə /

noun

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

Other Words From

• Mensan noun

Word History and Origins

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of mensa¹

Latin, literally: the table

Example Sentences

Match.com and Mensa have joined up, making it easier than ever to find fellow geniuses to date.

From The Daily Beast

This track is so confusing and multi-layered, it would take a team of Mensa members with Ph.D.s in Ebonics to decode.

From The Daily Beast

Curtis put up on his MySpace page a fake certificate proclaiming himself a member of Mensa, leaving Dutschke outraged.

From The Daily Beast

Sometimes the recess is rectangular instead of arched, and is then called by De Rossi sepolcro a mensa, or table tomb.

From Project Gutenberg

At the end opposite the entrance is a large sepolcro a mensa, in front of which is a dais elevated two steps.

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

Pone omnibus scitule appositis, ac mensa largiter instructa edere ceperunt, omniaque ingurgitauerunt.

From Project Gutenberg

In the Tripartite (Stokes, p. 251), menister seems to mean the paten, and mias (quasi mensa) the altar-table.

From Project Gutenberg