1. ten- "stretch, strain" + -esm(希腊语的一种后缀，很可能与英语后缀-ism有关联，也就是说很可能具有某种同源性) + -us(拉丁语后缀).
2. 含义：a straining, esp. a vain straining to evacuate, a vain desire to evacuate. (med.)
- tenesmus (n.)
- "a straining" (to void the contents of the bowels), 1520s, medical Latin, from Greek tenesmos "a straining," from teinein "to stretch" (see tenet).
