constipation
cons·ti·pa·tion
noun
1.
irregular and infrequent or difficult evacuation of the bowels; can be a symptom of intestinal obstruction or diverticulitis
Origin
First attested in the beginning of the 15ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English constipacioun, borrowed from Medieval Latin constīpātiō or its Old French equivalent, from cōnstīpō + -tiō. By surface analysis, constipate + -ion.
Phrases
- Constipation in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
- verbal constipation
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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.