perimenopause

Etymology
. The term has been in use since at least 1931, when it was used in Joseph Bolivar De Lee and Jacob Pearl Greenhill's book, Obstetrics: Gynecology.

Noun

 * 1) The physiological stage that women approaching menopause go through when, due to hormonal changes, they progress from their usual pattern of menstruation through a phase of atypical menstruation, and finally cease menstruating. Perimenopause ends when a woman has not menstruated for a year.

Translations

 * French: