Uricosuric

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Relating to a medicinal action that promotes the excretion of uric acid via the kidneys
2. Characterizing substances or treatments that help lower uric acid levels in the body
3. Associated with the therapeutic approach to managing conditions like gout by increasing uric acid elimination

Etymology: "Uricosuric" is a technical pharmacological term, built in a modern scientific style from "uricosuria," itself a medical coinage. The base, "uric," comes from French "urique," formed from "urine" and the chemical suffix "-ique," and it names the acid first found in urine. Its counterpart "uricosuria" joins "uric" to the Greek-derived "-uria," the standard medical suffix for substances passing into urine, so "uricosuria" means the excretion of uric acid. The final "-ic" is the familiar English adjective ending, which descends through Middle English from Latin "-icus" and Greek "-ikos," a suffix that appears throughout inherited and borrowed vocabulary. Adding it to "uricosuria" yields a word meaning "relating to or promoting the excretion of uric acid," used of drugs that help the kidneys clear it.