'anuria' originates from Greek, specifically the elements 'an-' and 'ouron', where 'an-' meant 'without' and 'ouron' meant 'urine'.

'anuria' passed into medical Latin/Neo-Latin as 'anuria' and was adopted into English medical usage from Latin in modern times.

Initially, it meant 'absence of urine', and over time it has retained that specific medical meaning.