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ur-

1
  1. variant of uro- 1:

    uranalysis.



ur-

2
  1. variant of uro- 2 before a vowel:

    urite.

ur-

3
(sometimes initial capital letter)
  1. a combining form meaning “earliest, original,” used in words denoting the primal stage of a historical or cultural entity or phenomenon:

    ur-civilization; urtext.

Ur

4

[ ur, oor ]

noun

  1. an ancient Sumerian city on the Euphrates, in S Iraq: extensive excavations, especially of royal tombs.

Ur

1

/ ɜː /

noun

  1. an ancient city of Sumer located on a former channel of the Euphrates
“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


Ur-

2

combining_form

  1. original, primitive

    Ursprache

“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

UR

3

abbreviation for

  1. you are
  2. your
“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

ur-

4

combining_form

  1. a variant of uro- 1 uro- 2
“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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ur-1

< German ur-, Middle High German, Old High German; cognate with Old English or-
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ur-1

German
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Example Sentences

Using UpToDate as the ur-text, though, gets into a vast expanse of gray zone, with some assertions evidence-based but many not.

Virginia State Delegate Barbara Comstock is the ur-Republican.

God is said to have summoned Abraham from Ur, now in Southern Iraq.

The identity of the Taliban leader reportedly killed in the drone strike—Wali-ur Rehman—is another mixed blessing.

Earlier in the day he had posted a photo of himself showing off his abs with the note “Ur turn.”

There was no foam around the Gild-Holm-'Ur; no wave beat against its granite sides.

At the same moment the wide waters round the Gild-Holm-'Ur and the vast gathering twilight closed upon them.

Don'o'—the 's suthin' ur other to pay, Ur he wouldn't 'a' stayed tu hum to-day.

There is a legend of Abraham, before he left Ur of the Chaldeans, which exhibits the contempt he had of idols.

A vast number of idols were brought from foreign nations, but as they were composed of wood, the god Ur (or fire) consumed them.

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Words That Use ur-

What does ur- mean?

Ur- is a combining form used like a prefix that has two unrelated senses.

The first is “urine.” It is used occasionally in medical terms, especially in pathology. In some rare instances, like urate, ur- specifically denotes uric acid, a compound found in urine. This ur- comes from Greek oûron, meaning “urine.” Other combining forms that mean “urine,” such as urino- and urin-, come from the Latin for “urine,” ūrīn(a).

The second is “earliest” or “original.” It is frequently used or appendaged to a wide variety of terms. In some instances, it is stylized with a hyphen after the form, as in ur-fascism. Because the German language capitalizes nouns, the combining form ur- sometimes appears as Ur-, as in Urheimat. This ur- comes from Old High German ur-, meaning “thoroughly.”

Despite popular misconception, the name Uranus, a planet named for a Roman god, does not use the combining form ur- to mean “urine” or “earliest.” Discover more about the origins of this name at our entry for Uranus. The chemical compound uranium is also named after this figure from Greco-Roman mythology.

What are variants of ur-?

The “urine” sense of ur- are variants of uro-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use uro- article.

Note that uro- can also mean “tail.” It is occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in anatomy and zoology. This uro- ultimately comes from Greek ourá, meaning “tail.”

Examples of ur- meaning “urine”

One example of a medical term that features the combining form ur- is uremia, “a condition resulting from the retention in the blood of constituents normally excreted in the urine.”

Ur- typically means “urine” in medical terms, while -emia denotes a blood condition; this latter form derives from Greek haîma, meaning “blood.” Uremia literally means “urine (in the) blood.”

What are some words that use the combining form ur-?

What are some other forms that ur- may be commonly confused with?

Words that begin ure- do not always use ur- as a combining form to mean “urine.” Frequently, it is an abbreviation of urea, a chemical compound that occurs in urine. Find out more at our entry for urease.

Break it down!

The suffix -esis is used to denote an action or process. With this in mind, what is uresis?

Examples of ur- meaning “earliest”

One example of a term you may have encountered that features the combining form ur- to mean “original,” is urtext, “the original form of a text, especially of a musical composition.”

In this term, ur- means “original,” and, as you probably guessed, -text means “text.” Urtext literally translates to “original text.” A well-known example of an urtext is Ur-Hamlet, which is the title retroactively given to a lost urtext that may have influenced William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy.

What are some words that use the combining form ur-?

  • ur-origin
  • ur-stock
  • urform
  • urlanguage

What are some other forms that ur- may be commonly confused with?

Not every word that begins with the exact letters ur-, such as urge or ursine, is necessarily using the combining forming ur- to denote “original.” Learn why ursine means “bearlike” at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

Researchers and anthropologists have long searched for the ur-language of human civilization. Keeping in mind the meaning of ur-, what is the ur-language?

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