What does sudatory mean?
Sudatory is a formal word relating to sweat or the glands that produce it. As an adjective, it can describe sweating activity, sweat glands, or the nerves and bodily processes involved in perspiration. As a noun, it is a rare alternative to “sweat gland,” although the longer, plainer term is now much more common. The word comes through Latin from sudare, meaning “to sweat,” and belongs to the same vocabulary as words such as sudorific and sudoriparous. Its rarity may make it unfamiliar, but it remains useful in anatomical, physiological, and medical contexts because it concisely identifies the body’s perspiration-related structures. In ordinary speech, “sweating,” “perspiration,” and “sweat gland” will usually sound more natural. Sudatory is therefore best understood as a precise specialized term rather than a general substitute for everyday vocabulary.
Of or relating to sweat, perspiration, or sweat glands.
"The clinician observed unusually active sudatory glands."
Chiefly medical, anatomical, or physiological.
A sweat gland.
"Several sudatories were examined during the skin biopsy."
Rare; “sweat gland” is the usual modern term.
A rare regular plural; the singular noun itself is uncommon in modern usage.
"The biopsy revealed several enlarged sudatories."
Sudatory comes from the same Latin root as sweat, but it describes the whole sweating system rather than perspiration alone.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sudatory come from?
Sudatory was borrowed into English in the seventeenth century from Latin sudatorius, an adjective derived from sudare, meaning “to sweat.” The same Latin root is preserved in English words such as sudor, sudorific, and sudoriparous.
How sudatory is actually used
Rare and chiefly formal, medical, or anatomical. In present-day technical writing, “sweat gland” is generally preferred to the noun, while the adjective remains identifiable in specialized contexts.