"the final cessation of the monthly courses of women," 1852 (from 1845 as a French word in English), from French ménopause, from medical Latin menopausis, from Greek mēn (genitive mēnos) "month" (from PIE *mehnes- "moon, month," from root *me- (2) "to measure," via the notion of the moon as the measurer of time) + pausis "a cessation, a pause," from pauein "to cause to cease," a word of uncertain etymology with no certain cognates outside Greek [Beekes]. Earlier it was change of life (1834).