constipation Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun irregular and infrequent or difficult evacuation of the bowels; can be a symptom of intestinal obstruction or diverticulitis
    irregularity.
  2. noun the act of making something futile and useless (as by routine)
    stultification; deadening; impairment.

WordNet

Con`sti*pa"tion noun
Etymology
L. constipatio a crowding together: cf.F. constipation.
Definitions
  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 faces; costiveness.

Webster 1913