The word douchebag is commonly used as slang, referring to someone (usually male) in an insulting way. Specifically, it means that a person thinks he is cool, but is in actuality self-centered, awkward or irritating. It can also be used as a more general, derogatory term for anyone who is annoying.

The definition of the actual object, a douche bag, refers to the equipment used in douching. Douching is the process of rinsing out the vagina with water (sometimes with added chemicals) by using a bag with a tube and nozzle attached to it. The name comes from the French word doucher (which means, "to shower").

Douching used to be recommended as a method of cleaning the vagina and was even once thought of as a way to prevent pregnancy (by douching right after sex). Doctors now know that the vagina is self-cleansing and douching is considered unnecessary--even dangerous--since it can spread infection. Douching is also not effective as a birth control method and is no longer a common practice.

No one really knows how the term douchebag evolved from its medical meaning to the more popular slang meaning known today.

Possibly the first (and still most infamous) use of the term douchebag was in a 1980 Saturday Night Live skit titled "Lord Douchebag." If you haven't seen the skit or don't know what we're referring to, you can read a transcript of the show here.

The word was also seen a lot in the months before the 2004 presidential election, when Jon Stewart famously called conservative columnist Robert Novak a "douchebag for liberty." South Park ran an episode called "Douche and Turd" about a mascot election, and the site www.johnkerryisadouchebagbut
imvotingforhimanyway.com was created and became instantly popular.