Insipidus

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A medical condition resulting in the body's inability to retain water, causing excessive thirst and frequent urination
2. A health disorder defined by a lack of proper water metabolism, leading to increased urine output and constant dehydration
3. A health condition characterized by the kidneys' failure to retain water, resulting in excessive thirst and a high volume of urine production

Etymology: "Insipidus" is the Latin adjective that gives us the medical term "diabetes insipidus," and its history is a neat illustration of how a word can keep its sense while losing its flavour. In Latin, "insipidus" meant "tasteless" or "insipid," built from the prefix "in-" meaning "not" and "sapidus," "savoury" or "tasty," which in turn came from "sapere," "to taste" or "to be wise." The same root gives English "insipid" and, through "sapient," the idea of wisdom. The medical sense came much later. Physicians in the seventeenth century, notably Thomas Willis, recognised that diabetes mellitus produced sweet urine, and they needed a contrasting term for the rarer condition where urine was copious but tasteless. "Diabetes insipidus" was used in that sense, with the Latin adjective describing the urine rather than the patient, and the name stuck because the flavour test was the way the two conditions were told apart.

Synonyms: bland, tasteless, insipid, dull, flat

Antonyms: flavorful, tasty, savory, rich, spicy