Oliguria
/ˌɒlɪˈɡjʊəriə/noun
Abnormally low urine production.
Did you know?The term combines two ancient Greek roots: oligos, meaning “little” or “few,” and ouron, meaning “urine,” the same root behind words such as urea and ureter.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₁wer-
“A reconstructed root associated with fluid or bodily discharge, ancestral to Greek ouron and later urinary terms.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ὀλίγος (oligos)
“Little, few, or scanty.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
οὖρον (ouron)
“Urine.”
19th Century
Medical Greek
oligouria
“A condition of producing an unusually small amount of urine.”
19th Century
Medical English
oliguria
“Abnormally low urine output; the modern English medical term.”