Douche

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /duːʃ/

Definitions

1. A directed flow of liquid for medical or hygienic cleansing ; an apparatus or practice for rinsing private areas of the body ; a derogatory label for someone considered unpleasant or obnoxious
2. A forceful jet of liquid employed to cleanse or irrigate an area ; a tool or technique designed to wash specific bodily regions ; a rude insult aimed at a person seen as disagreeable or contemptible
3. A steady stream of fluid applied to cleanse a body part ; a personal hygiene device or procedure ; a disparaging term used to describe a disagreeable individual

Etymology: The word "douche" for a stream of water has a surprisingly bodily origin: it comes from the Italian "doccia," meaning a conduit or channel for water, which is also the root of "shower" in the sense of a water spray. Italian medical and bathing practice carried the term into French as "douche," where it came to mean a jet of water directed at the body, used for cleansing or therapy. English borrowed the word from French, keeping its sense of a spray of liquid. The noun and verb forms both follow from that core idea of directing a stream of water onto something. The jet-of-water meaning is the one the word has carried for English speakers since it arrived, and the sense of a stream aimed at the body is the thread running from the Italian channel to the modern cleansing spray.

Synonyms: lavage, irrigation

Antonyms: dry