constipate

constipate
/kon"steuh payt'/, v.t., constipated, constipating.
1. to cause constipation in; make costive.
2. Informal. to cause to become slow-moving or immobilized; restrict the action or effectiveness of: Bureaucratic red tape can constipate the operations of any government agency.
3. Obs. to crowd or pack closely together.
[1375-1425; late ME (ptp.) < L constipatus (ptp. of constipare), equiv. to con- CON- + stipa- (s. of stipare to crowd, press) + -tus ptp. suffix]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Constipate — Con sti*pate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Constipated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Constipating}.] [L. constipatus, p. p. of constipare; con + stipare to crowd together. See {Costive}.] 1. To crowd or cram into a narrow compass; to press together or condense.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • constipate — (v.) 1530s, in part a back formation from constipation, in part from L. constipatus, pp. of constipare (see CONSTIPATION (Cf. constipation)). Earlier as an adj. (early 15c.); an earlier verb in this sense was constipen (late 14c.). Related:… …   Etymology dictionary

  • constipate — ► VERB (usu. be constipated) ▪ affect with constipation. ORIGIN Latin constipare crowd or press together …   English terms dictionary

  • constipate — [kän′stə pāt΄] vt. constipated, constipating [< L constipatus, pp. of constipare, to press or crowd together < com , together + stipare, to cram, pack: see STIFF] to cause constipation in …   English World dictionary

  • constipate — transitive verb ( pated; pating) Etymology: Medieval Latin constipatus, past participle of constipare, from Latin, to crowd together, from com + stipare to pack tight more at stiff Date: 1533 1. to cause constipation in 2. to make …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • constipate — verb To cause constipation in …   Wiktionary

  • constipate — To cause constipation. * * * con·sti·pate kän(t) stə .pāt vt, pat·ed; pat·ing to make costive: cause constipation in …   Medical dictionary

  • constipate — (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) v. t. clog, stop up (see closure, density) …   English dictionary for students

  • constipate — con·sti·pate || kÉ’nstɪpeɪt v. suffer from constipation (condition in which evacuation of the bowels is difficult and does not occur regularly); cause constipation …   English contemporary dictionary

  • constipate — v. a. Make costive …   New dictionary of synonyms

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