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emunctory

[ih-muhngk-tuh-ree]Physiology
noun, plural e·munc·to·ries.
  1. a part or organ of the body, as the skin or a kidney, that functions in carrying off waste products.
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adjective
  1. excretory.
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Origin of emunctory

1535–45; < New Latin ēmunctōrium (noun), ēmunctōrius (adj.), equivalent to Latin ēmung(ere) to wipe one's nose (ē- e-1 + -mungere, akin to mūcus mucus) + -tōrium -tory2, -tōrius -tory1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for emunctory

Historical Examples

  • A nose is "the prominence on the face which is the organ of scent, and the emunctory of the brain."

    Deformities of Samuel Johnson, Selected from his Works

    Anonymous

  • Emunctory, e-mungk′tor-i, n. an organ of the body that carries off waste: an excretory duct.

British Dictionary definitions for emunctory

emunctory

adjective
  1. of or relating to a bodily organ or duct having an excretory function
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noun plural -ries
  1. an excretory organ or duct, such as a skin pore
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Word Origin

C16: from New Latin ēmunctōrium, from Latin ēmungere to wipe clean, from mungere to wipe
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
emunctory in Medicine

emunctory

(ĭ-mŭngk′tə-rē)
adj.
  1. Serving to carry waste out of the body; excretory.
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n.
  1. An organ or duct that removes or carries waste from the body.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.