Etymology

philosopause

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Today it means: The informally observed tendency of mature or elderly scientists, who apparently have outlived their most productive years of research and similar practical work, to discontinue or decrease their participation in such activity, in favour of pursuing, and often publishing, philosophical theories or speculations. Commonly the implication is that such works are beyond the authors' recognised field of competence, and, as a result, typically of disappointing value or standard. Full definition →

English menopause ← French ménopause ← Latin pausa
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰil-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰil-o-s
  3. Ancient Greekφῐ́λος (phĭ́los)
  4. Ancient Greekσοφός (sophós)
  5. Ancient Greekφῐλόσοφος (phĭlósophos)
  6. Ancient Greekφιλοσοφία (philosophía)
  7. Latinphilosophia
  8. Old Frenchphilosophie
  9. Middle Englishphilosophie
  10. Englishphilosophy
  11. Proto-Indo-European*med-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*meh₁-?
  13. Proto-Indo-European*mḗh₁n̥s
  14. Proto-Hellenic*méns
  15. Ancient Greekμήν (mḗn)
  16. Frenchméno-
  17. Ancient Greekπαύω (paúō)
  18. Ancient Greekπαῦσις (paûsis)
  19. Latinpausa
  20. Frenchménopause
  21. Englishmenopause
  22. English todayphilosopause

Blend of philosophy + menopause from Ancient Greek παῦσις (paûsis, “discontinuance”)

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekπαῦσις all →

posepausepausa-pause

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.