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emu

[ ee-myoo ]
/ ˈi myu /
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noun
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.
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Origin of emu

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)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use emu in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for emu (1 of 3)

emu
/ (ˈiːmjuː) /

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

Word Origin for emu

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

British Dictionary definitions for emu (2 of 3)

EMU

abbreviation for
European Monetary Union
Economic and Monetary Union
See e.m.u.

British Dictionary definitions for emu (3 of 3)

e.m.u.

EMU


abbreviation for
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

Abbreviation of electromagnetic unit
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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