Incontinencies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A lack of voluntary control over bodily functions, specifically relating to the inability to hold urine or feces; the occurrence of unrestrained or excessive behavior that defies accepted norms; a state of lacking moderation or self-discipline in actions or emotions
2. The inability to control physical urges, particularly those pertaining to urination or defecation; actions characterized by a lack of discretion or restraint in behavior; an excessive indulgence in passions or desires leading to moral lapses
3. A condition describing the lack of control over excretory functions, particularly urinary or fecal release; behaving in ways that display a disregard for societal expectations; an absence of temperance in desires or expressions leading to ethical concerns

Etymology: "Incontinencies" is simply the plural of "incontinency," so it refers to several separate instances of the thing the noun names. The noun itself came into Middle English from Latin "incontinentia," a word built from "in-" (not) and "continentia" (self-restraint, from "continere," to hold together or hold back). Its literal sense is a failure to hold something in, which explains both the bodily meaning and the moral one. "Incontinency" and "incontinence" are doublets: two English words descended from the same Latin source by separate routes, one arriving in Middle English and the other coming later and taking a slightly different shape. Both are in use, and the plural form appears mainly when writers want to point to specific lapses rather than the general condition.

Synonyms: inabilities, impotences

Antonyms: continence, self-control