From: HenHanna@NewsGrouper   
      
   Aidan Kehoe  posted:   
      
   >   
   > I came across this word today for the first time in a review of a biography   
   of   
   > Niccolao Manucci (which is likely to bring up many questions relevant to   
   > sci.lang, though less so alt.usage.english, if I read it).   
   >   
   > It’s a term for an enema, also spelled glyster, glister, from Greek   
   κλυστηρ (a   
   > syringe used for this). It is obsolete or close to it, last relevant citation   
   > in OED2 1846, in veterinary use. Pronounced /ˈklɪstɚ/, to my mild   
   surprise.   
   >   
   > The word still exists in French, German, Spanish and Portuguese, though it   
   > doesn’t seem to be the default choice of word for an enema in any of those   
   > languages.   
   >   
      
   ___________   
      
   The etymology of "enema" traces back to the early 15th century from the Greek   
   word ἐνέμα (énema), meaning "injection."   
   It derives from the Greek verb ἐνίημι (enienai), which means "to send   
   in" or "inject," formed from ἐν (en) meaning "in" and ἵημι (hienai)   
   meaning "to send" or "throw."   
   The word entered English via Medieval Latin.   
      
   ___________   
      
   A related term to "enema" and "clyster" is "colon cleansing," also referred to   
   as "colon therapy," "colon hydrotherapy," or   
   "colonic irrigation."   
      
            ---------- irrigation  sounds odd.... like a farming term.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)