'natriuretic' originates from New Latin and Greek, specifically the word 'natrium' (from Latin) and the Greek root 'ourein', where 'natrium' referred to the soda mineral (a sodium compound) and 'ourein' meant 'to urinate'.

'natriuretic' changed from New Latin 'natrium' combined with Greek-derived suffix elements from 'ourein'/'-uresis' (meaning 'urination') and eventually became the modern English medical term 'natriuretic'.

Initially, it meant 'relating to or causing the excretion of sodium,' and over time this meaning has remained essentially the same in modern medical usage.