emu

[ ee-myoo ]

noun
  1. a large, flightless, ratite bird, Emu (Dromaius) novaehollandiae, of Australia, resembling the ostrich but smaller and having a feathered head and neck and rudimentary wings.

Origin of emu

1
1605–15; earlier emeu (in earliest E source emia, eme), ultimately <Portuguese ema, attested in 1541 as a name for the cassowary (further origin obscure); the replacement of -a by -eu, etc., is unexplained

Other definitions for EMU (2 of 2)

EMU

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British Dictionary definitions for emu (1 of 3)

emu

/ (ˈiːmjuː) /


noun
  1. a large Australian flightless bird, Dromaius novaehollandiae, similar to the ostrich but with three-toed feet and grey or brown plumage: order Casuariiformes: See also ratite

Origin of emu

1
C17: changed from Portuguese ema ostrich, from Arabic Na-`amah ostrich

British Dictionary definitions for EMU (2 of 3)

EMU

abbreviation for
  1. European Monetary Union

  2. Economic and Monetary Union

  1. See e.m.u.

British Dictionary definitions for e.m.u. (3 of 3)

e.m.u.

abbreviation for
  1. electromagnetic unit

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

Scientific definitions for EMU

EMU

  1. Abbreviation of electromagnetic unit

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