emu

[ ee-myoo ]

/ ˈi myu /

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.

Words nearby emu

empyrean, empyreuma, emr, ems, emt, emu, emu bush, emu oil, emu parade, emu-bob, emu-wren

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

Definition for emu (2 of 2)

EMU

Also emu electromagnetic unit.

Aerospace. extravehicular mobility unit.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for emu

Gordon Brown, too, resisted the siren calls of the Europhiles in his own party to take Britain into the EMU.
Niall Ferguson: Great Britain Saves Itself by Rejecting the EU|Niall Ferguson|December 10, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Their hair was arranged in a bunch on the top of their heads, and in it were stuck bunches of emu feathers.
Spinifex and Sand|David W Carnegie
But the gum-tree is as distinctive of Australia as are the emu and the kangaroo.
Australian Pictures|Howard Willoughby
An emu was shot during the day, while running at full speed, at the range of over 200 yards.
Journals of Australian Explorations|A C and F T Gregory

His belief in a myth of kinship with an Emu is carried into practice, and regulates his conduct, magical and social.
Social Origins and Primal Law|Andrew Lang
We also learnt that the emu and a small species of the kangaroo are found in the islands.
Discoveries in Australia, Volume 2|John Lort Stokes

British Dictionary definitions for emu (1 of 2)

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 2)

EMU

abbreviation for

European Monetary Union

Economic and Monetary Union

See e.m.u.

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