emu

[ee-myoo]

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.

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

EMU

Also emu electromagnetic unit.
Aerospace. extravehicular mobility unit.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for emu

Contemporary Examples of 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

Historical Examples of emu

Tommy also shot an emu that came to water, and which we carried to camp.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
They had collected some of the emu feathers, which were lying all about.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
Of the thirty species of grallatores the most remarkable is the emu.
The History of Tasmania, Volume I (of 2)
John West
This we knew would, of course, give the Emu a great advantage.
Mark Seaworth
William H.G. Kingston
We could here gain no intelligence of the Emu, so we again sailed.
Mark Seaworth
William H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for emu

emu

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

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

Word Origin and History for emu

"large Australian bird," 1610s, probably from Portuguese ema "crane, ostrich," of unknown origin.

emu in Science

EMU

Abbreviation of electromagnetic unit