| 释义 |
‖ mensa|ˈmɛnsə|
[L. mensa table.]
1. Eccl. The upper surface, esp. the top slab, of an altar: an altar-table.
1848B. Webb Continental Ecclesiol. 45 An original altar of solid masonry with moulded mensa and plinth. 1904Athenæum 20 Aug. 250/1 In the chancel of Car-Colston..rests the uprooted headstone of Dr. Thoroton,..it was originally the mensa of the high altar.
2. The grinding surface of a molar tooth.
1693tr. Blancard's Phys. Dict. (ed. 2), Mensa, the broader part of the Teeth called Grinders, which Chaws and Minces the Meat. 1856Mayne Expos. Lex.
3. (With capital initial.) Adopted as the name of an organization of people with above-average intelligence quotients. Also attrib.
Members qualify by passing a test equivalent to an I.Q. of 148 or more on the Cattell scale.
1962Mensa Register p. ii, The Mensa Register is published to satisfy members' curiosity as to who the other members are, and to allow such individual contact to be made as is desired. 1968Brit. Mensa Dec. 6/2 Mensa is essentially a social organisation, designed to bring mutually congenial people together. Ibid., Examination of the Bulletin will show thriving Mensa groups in every geographic region. 1971Sear (Manch. Branch Brit. Mensa) Nov., Mensa is a social club with the entry requirement that members have an IQ higher than 98% of the general population. 1972Times 2 Nov. 9/4 All participants have mensa minds that have read Wittgenstein. 1972W. Garner Ditto, Brother Rat! vi. 46 Mensa is a sort of high IQ élite. Anyone can try their tests. Very few pass. |