Renal
/ˈriːnəl/noun
Relating to the kidneys.
Did you know?Renal comes from Latin rēnālis, built from rēnēs, the plural noun for “kidneys,” a classic example of how anatomy became medical language through Latin.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*rey-
“to flow, run”
Latin
Latin
rēnēs
“kidneys”
Classical Latin
Latin
rēnālis
“of the kidneys”
Late Latin
Latin
rēnālis
“renal, pertaining to the kidneys”
14th Century
English
renal
“pertaining to the kidneys”
Modern English
English
renal
“relating to the kidneys”
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