Hypertext Webster Gateway: "constipation"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Constipation \Con`sti*pa"tion\, n. [L. constipatio a crowding
together: cf. F. constipation.]
1. Act of crowding anything into a less compass, or the state
of being crowded or pressed together; condensation. [Obs.]
Fullness of matter, or a pretty close constipation .
. . of its particles. --Boyle.
2. A state of the bowels in which the evacuations are
infrequent and difficult, or the intestines become filled
with hardened f[ae]ces; costiveness.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
constipation
n : irregular and infrequent or difficult evacuation of the
bowels; can be a symptom of intestinal obstruction or
diverticulitis [syn: {irregularity}]
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