emu
[ee-myoo]
- 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
EMU
- Also emu electromagnetic unit.
- Aerospace. extravehicular mobility unit.
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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.
Historical Examples of emu
Tommy also shot an emu that came to water, and which we carried to camp.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
They had collected some of the emu feathers, which were lying all about.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
Of the thirty species of grallatores the most remarkable is the emu.
Can it be the Emu engaged with a man-of-war, by any possibility?
Mark SeaworthWilliam H.G. Kingston
We could here gain no intelligence of the Emu, so we again sailed.
Mark SeaworthWilliam H.G. Kingston
emu
- 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
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Word Origin for emu
C17: changed from Portuguese ema ostrich, from Arabic Na-`amah ostrich
EMU
- European Monetary Union
- Economic and Monetary Union
- See e.m.u.
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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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
EMU
- Abbreviation of electromagnetic unit
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.