DIARRHEA

diarrhea, diarrhoea, looseness of the bowels, looseness

(noun) frequent and watery bowel movements; can be a symptom of infection or food poisoning or colitis or a gastrointestinal tumor

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

diarrhea (countable and uncountable, plural diarrheas)

A gastrointestinal disorder characterized by frequent and very fluid or watery bowel movements.

(chiefly, US, UK) The watery or very soft excrement that comes from such bowel movements.

Usage notes

Diarrhea is the American and Canadian spelling; diarrhoea is the British / Commonwealth (except Canada) spelling.

Synonyms

• (medical condition): the runs, the shits, the squirts (US), the trots, the squits (both UK), the skitters (Scottish and Northern English) (all slang)

• See also diarrhea

Hyponyms

• Montezuma's revenge (informal)

• Pharaoh's revenge (informal)

Source: Wiktionary


Di`ar*rhe"a, Di`ar*rhoe"a, n. Etym: [L. diarrhoea, Gr. stream. See Stream.] (Med.)

Definition: A morbidly frequent and profuse discharge of loose or fluid evacuations from the intestines, without tenesmus; a purging or looseness of the bowels; a flux.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

6 May 2025

HEEDLESS

(adjective) marked by or paying little heed or attention; “We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics”--Franklin D. Roosevelt; “heedless of danger”; “heedless of the child’s crying”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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