What's in a name? Some linguistic aspects of the climacteric

Examining such terms as climacteric or menopause and utilizing supportive historical data, an attempt is made to trace the development of these concepts, their time of inception and their spread. It is suggested that the persistence of popular terminology of the climacteric, especially in England, until late in the last century is due to the association of female popular healers with its management. In France, where medical men were long involved in this field, the terminology had been of a completely different character for over two centuries. Latin literature, as reflected in M.D. theses, goes back even further to the beginning of the 18th century. Only cultures which, because of their social structure and views of ageing regard the climacteric as a critical period, describe it in ominous terms. These terms in turn perpetuate the views and attitudes which spawned them. A warning is sounded against an objectification of abstract terms like the "biological menopause" which may lead to misrepresentation and distortion. The objectification of symptoms, essentially means of communication, as data has already led to many difficulties in research. Finally, the confusion produced through lack of a suitable approach to minor behavioural disorders, and their consequent inclusion under the label of "menopause", is very briefly reviewed.