WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Te*nes"mus
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [NL., fr. Gr. tenesmos.] (Med.)
Definition : Defn: An urgent and distressing sensation, as if a discharge from the intestines must take place, although none can be effected; -- always referred to the lower extremity of the rectum. Vesical tenesmus, a similar sensation as to the evacuation of urine, referred to the region of the bladder.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913