retromingent

UK/ɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ˈmɪndʒənt/

retromingent noun: an animal that urinates backwards, such as the camel, hippo or raccoon.

Noun

retromingent (plural retromingents)

(obsolete) An animal that urinates backwards, such as the camel, hippo or raccoon.
- I confess by reason of the postick and backward position of the feminine parts in quadrupedes, they can hardly admit the substitution of a protrusion, effectuall unto masculine generation; except it be in Retromingents, and such as couple backward.1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, III.17

retromingent (comparative more retromingent, superlative most retromingent)

(not comparable) That urinates backwards; also used of such urination.
- It sat down at last and, as if to express once and for all its disenchantment with the whole sum of canine existence, delivered itself of a retromingent puddle on the beautiful Shiraz.1958, Lawrence Durrell, Mountolive
- "Additionally, camels are retromingent animals, and so spectators would be advised to beware not only of flying saliva but of pitched urine as well."2006 April 17, Danny Baker, “When the spit hits the fan”, in The Times
Cowardly.

From retro- (“backwards”) + past participle of Latin mingō (“to urinate”).

What does retromingent mean?: Retromingent means an animal that urinates backwards, such as the camel, hippo or raccoon.
What part of speech is retromingent?: Retromingent can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce retromingent?: Retromingent is pronounced /ɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ˈmɪndʒənt/ (UK).
What is the plural of retromingent?: The plural of retromingent is retromingents.

Adapted from Wiktionary: retromingent (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “retromingent.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/retromingent. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.