— semestral, semestrial /si mes"tree euhl/ , adj.
/si mes"teuhr/ , n.
1. (in many educational institutions) a division constituting half of the regular academic year, lasting typically from 15 to 18 weeks.
2. (in German universities) a session, lasting about six months and including periods of recess.
[ 1820-30; seme ( n ) stris of six months duration sex-menstris, equiv. to sex SIX + mens ( is ) month + -tris adj. suffix (perh. repr. an earlier * mens ( i ) -teros ) ]