Bedwetters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who involuntarily urinate while asleep, typically affecting children but can occur in adults
2. Those who suffer from nighttime urinary incontinence, often symbolizing a developmental or psychological concern
3. People experiencing nocturnal enuresis, which can be a common childhood issue or persist into later life

Etymology: "Bedwetters" is simply the plural of "bedwetter," a compound formed from "bed" and "wetter," the agent noun of "wet." Its parts are plain Old English stock: "bed" comes from the Old English "bedd," and "wet" from the Old English "wǣt," so the word is a transparent combination of two ordinary words rather than a borrowing or coinage from a classical language. The sense "one who wets the bed" follows directly from the literal parts: a "wetter" is something or someone that makes things wet, and the "bed" is the place where the wetting happens. The compound is therefore descriptive, built on the nouns as they were used at the time it was formed, and it carries the meaning of a person affected by nighttime urinary incontinence without any figurative detour in its construction.