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urinor

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word urinor

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
116–27 BC, Varro
Ultimate origin
Latin ūrīna
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin urina
English urine
Latin urinor

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [uːˈriː.nɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [uˈriː.nor][1]

Forms

ūrīnor (present infinitive ūrīnārī, perfect active ūrīnātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1] An active form ūrīnō, ūrīnāre is also found.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin ūrīna.[2][1] De Vaan takes the sense of the verb as proof that “urine” is a secondary meaning of the noun, whose original sense must have been “water”; he traces the noun to Proto-Italic *ūr-īno- (“watery”) and Proto-Indo-European *u(e/o)h1-r (“water”).[4][1] He also reports the suggestion of Oleson that divers produce more urine while diving, which may explain the verb.[4]

Cognate with Sanskrit वार् (vā́r-, “water”) and Old Norse úr (“drizzle”).[4] Georges likewise compares the Sanskrit word for water.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Varro, in On the Latin Language, defines the active form: urinare est mergi in aquam, “to urinate is to plunge into water”.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

The active ūrīnō is the older form, used by Varro;[3][2][6] Cicero and Pliny the Elder use the deponent.[3][2][6] Cicero speaks of divers as those who plunge under water, and Pliny of frogs that stay under water for a long time.[5] The agent noun ūrīnātor “diver” is attested from Varro and Livy on.[4]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro defines the active urinare.[3][6][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses the deponent of divers.[3][5]
  • 23/24–79 – Pliny the Elder uses it of frogs and of divers.[3][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To plunge under water, to dive.[2][3][5]

Word family

  • ūrīnātor

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
Cite this entry

“Urinor.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/urinor. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·