Adjacent Words

Costive definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

COSTIVE, a. [L, to cram, to stuff.]
1. Literally, crowded, stuffed, as the intestines; hence, bound in body; retaining fecal matter in the bowels, in a hard and dry state; having the excrements obstructed, or the motion of the bowels too slow.
2. Dry and hard; as costive clay. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: retarding evacuation of feces; binding; constipating [ant: laxative]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French costivé, past participle of costiver to constipate, from Latin constipare Date: 14th century 1. a. affected with constipation b. causing constipation 2. slow in action or expression 3. not generous ; stingy • costively adverb • costiveness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 constipated. 2 niggardly. Derivatives: costively adv. costiveness n. Etymology: ME f. OF costivé f. L constipatus: see CONSTIPATE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Costive Cos"tive (k?s"t?v), a. [OF. costev['e], p. p. of costever, F. constiper, L. constipare to press closely together, to cram; con- + stipare to press together, cram. See Stipulate, Stiff, and cf. Constipate.] 1. Retaining fecal matter in the bowels; having too slow a motion of the bowels; constipated. 2. Reserved; formal; close; cold. [Obs.] ``A costive brain.'' --Prior. ``Costive of laughter.'' --B. Jonson. You must be frank, but without indiscretion; and close, but without being costive. --Lord Chesterfield. 3. Dry and hard; impermeable; unyielding. [Obs.] Clay in dry seasons is costive, hardening with the sun and wind. --Mortimer.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Constipated.