grand climacteric
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cli•mac•ter•ic
(klaɪˈmæk tər ɪk, ˌklaɪ mækˈtɛr ɪk)n.
1. a period of decrease of reproductive capacity in men and women, culminating, in women, in the menopause.
2. any critical period.
3. a year in which important changes in health, fortune, etc., are held by some theories to occur, as one's sixty-third year (grand climacteric).
adj. 4. Also, cli`mac•ter′i•cal. critical; crucial.
[1595–1605; < Latin clīmactēricus < Greek klīmaktērikós, derivative of klīmaktḗr rung of a ladder, critical point in life, derivative of klîmax (see climax)]
cli`mac•ter′i•cal•ly, adv.
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