different between retromingent vs micturate

English

Etymology

From retro- (“backwards”) + past participle of Latin ming? (“I urinate”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??t??(?)?m?nd??nt/

Noun

retromingent (plural retromingents)

1. (obsolete) An animal that urinates backwards, such as the camel, hippo or raccoon.
   • 1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, III.17:

     I confess by reason of the postick and backward position of the feminine parts in quadrupedes, they can hardly admit the substitution of a protrusion, effectuall unto masculine generation; except it be in Retromingents, and such as couple backward.

Translations

Adjective

retromingent (comparative more retromingent, superlative most retromingent)

1. (not comparable) That urinates backwards; also used of such urination.
   • 1958, Lawrence Durrell, Mountolive:

     It sat down at last and, as if to express once and for all its disenchantment with the whole sum of canine existence, delivered itself of a retromingent puddle on the beautiful Shiraz.

   • 2006, Danny Baker, "When the spit hits the fan", The Times, 17 Apr 2006:

     "Additionally, camels are retromingent animals, and so spectators would be advised to beware not only of flying saliva but of pitched urine as well."

2. Cowardly.

Related terms

• micturate
• retromingency

Translations

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin mictur?re (“to have the urge to urinate”), from mict?rus, from mei? (“urinate”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?mey??- (“to urinate”). Though borrowed from Latin in Modern English (in the mid 19th century), the root of this word was present in Old English in the word m?gan (and whence Early Middle English mi?en), which simply meant “to urinate”.See: Mingere and meiere: urination.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?kt????e?t/

Verb

micturate (third-person singular simple present micturates, present participle micturating, simple past and past participle micturated)

1. (intransitive, physiology, formal) To urinate.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:urinate

Derived terms

• micturient
• micturition

Related terms

• retromingent

Translations

Further reading

• “micturate”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.