Etymology

constipation

C3O1N1S1T1I1P3A1T1I1O1N1

Today it means: A state of the bowels in which the evacuations are infrequent and difficult, or the intestines become filled with hardened faeces. Full definition →

Middle English constipacioun ← Medieval Latin constīpātiō
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The story

  1. Medieval Latin · derived fromconstīpātiō
  2. Middle English · inherited fromconstipacioun
  3. English todayconstipation

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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.