menstruum

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menstruum uterine secretion XVI; solvent XVII. — L. mēnstruum, in classL. only pl. menstrual blood, sb. use of n. of mēnstruus, f. mēnsis MONTH; cf. prec. The sense ‘solvent’ in medL. arose from the alchemists' view of the transmutation of base metal into gold by a solvent liquid, which they compared to the action on sperm in the womb of the menstrual blood.
So menstrual XIV. menstruous XVI. — F. or late L.

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