‖ meninx
(ˈmiːnɪŋks)
Chiefly pl. meninges (mɪˈnɪndʒiːz); also 7 menings.
[mod.L., a. Gr. µῆνιγξ membrane, esp. of the brain. (Late L. had mēninga; cf. F. méninge.)]
Any of the three membranes enveloping the brain and spinal cord (viz. the dura mater, arachnoid, and pia mater).
| 1616 Bullokar Eng. Expos., Meninges, thinne skins in which the braine is contained. 1638 A. Read Chirurg. xvii. 124 In the suture there is a ligament, by which the menings are tyed to the pericranium. 1666 Phil. Trans. I. 397 He..inquires, whether the Nerve proceed from the Medulla itself, or its Meninx. 1747 tr. Astruc's Fevers 202 As to the phrenzy, it is an inflammation of the meninges, or dura and pia mater. 1839–47 Todd's Cycl. Anat. III. 627/2 The cerebral and spinal meninges. 1884 M. Mackenzie Dis. Throat & Nose II. 370 Congestion of the meninges was found at the base of the brain. |
¶ b. The drum of the ear. [So in Gr.] nonce-use.
| 1630 Randolph Aristippus 28 The Meninx of his eare is like a cut Drum, and the hammers lost. |