urine

Definition

Liquid waste consisting of water, salts, and urea, which is made in the kidneys, stored in the bladder, then released through the urethra.

Etymology

From Middle English uryne, from Latin ūrīna (“urine”), from Proto-Indo-European *uh₁r-, zero grade of *woh₁-r̥ (“water, liquid, milk”). Related to *h₁ówHdʰr̥ (“udder”) (see udder). Cognate with Old English ūriġ (“wet, moist”). Displaced native English land (“urine”) (from Middle English land, from Old English hland (“urine”)), though lant survives with a specialized sense.

Example Sentences

• "An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine."

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