Etymology dictionary

urine (n.) — Uzi

urine (n.)

c. 1300, from Old French orine, urine (12c.) and directly from Latin urina "urine," from PIE *ur- (source also of Greek ouron "urine"), variant of root *we-r- "water, liquid, milk" (source also of Sanskrit var "water," Avestan var "rain," Lithuanian jūrės "sea," Old English wær, Old Norse ver "sea," Old Norse ur "drizzling rain"), related to *eue-dh-r (see udder).

urinate (v.)

1590s, back-formation from urination or else from Medieval Latin urinatus, past participle of urinare, from urina (see urine). Related: Urinated; urinating.

urinalysis (n.)

1889, from urine + analysis.

urinary (adj.)

1570s, from Modern Latin urinarius, from Latin urina (see urine).

URL

by 1990, initialism (acronym) from uniform resource locator.

urn (n.)

late 14c., "large, rounded vase used to preserve the ashes of the dead," from Latin urna "a jar, vessel of baked clay, water-jar; vessel for the ashes of the dead" (also used as a ballot box and for drawing lots), probably from earlier *urc-na, akin to urceus "pitcher, jug," and from the same source as Greek hyrke "earthen vessel." But another theory connects it to Latin urere "to burn" (compare bust (n.1)).

uro-

word-forming element meaning "urine," from Greek ouron "urine" (see urine).

urogenital (adj.)

1838, from uro- + genital. Form urinogenital is attested from 1836.

urology (n.)

1753, from uro- + -logy.

urologist (n.)

1873; see urology + -ist.

Ursa

in constellation names, Old English, from Latin ursa "she-bear" (see ursine).

urschleim (n.)

1921, from German Urschleim "original mucus," from ur- (see ur-) + Schleim (see slime (n.)).

ursine (adj.)

"pertaining to a bear," 1550s, from Latin ursinus "of or resembling a bear," from ursus "a bear," cognate with Greek arktos, from PIE *rtko- (see arctic).

ursprache (n.)

"proto-language," 1908, from German Ursprache, from ur- (see ur-) + sprache "speech" (see speech).

Ursula

fem. proper name, from Latin Ursula, diminutive of ursa "she-bear" (see ursine). The Ursuline order of Catholic women was founded as Brescia in 1537 and named for Saint Ursula.

urticaria (n.)

"nettle-rash," medical Latin, from Latin urtica "nettle, stinging nettle" (figuratively "spur, incentive, stimulant), from urere "to burn," from PIE root *eus- "to burn" (see ember) + abstract noun ending -ia. Related: Urticarial.

Uruguay

country named for river that flows past it, which is from a native name in an extinct language, said to represent uru "bird" + guay "tail," perhaps a reference to some totemic animal. Related: Uruguayan.

use (n.)

c. 1200, "act of employing," from Anglo-French and Old French us "custom, practice, usage," from Latin usus "use, custom, practice, employment, skill, habit," from past participle stem of uti "make use of, profit by, take advantage of" (see use (v.)).

used (adj.)

"second-hand," 1590s, past-participle adjective from use (v.). To be used to "accustomed, familiar" is recorded by late 14c. Verbal phrase used to "formerly did or was" (as in I used to love her) represents a construction attested from c. 1300, and common from c. 1400, from use (intransitive) "be accustomed, practice customarily," but now surviving only in past tense form. The pronunciation is affected by the t- of to. Used-to-be (n.) "one who has outlived his fame" is from 1853.

us (pron.)

Old English us (cognate with Old Saxon, Old Frisian us, Old Norse, Swedish oss, Dutch ons, German uns), accusative and dative plural of we, from PIE *nes- (2), forming oblique cases of the first person plural personal pronoun (source also of Sanskrit nas, Avestan na, Hittite nash "us;" Greek no "we two;" Latin nos "we, us;" Old Church Slavonic ny "us," nasu "our;" Old Irish ni, Welsh ni "we, us"). The -n- is preserved in Germanic in Dutch ons, German uns.

use (v.)

c. 1200, "employ for a purpose," from Old French user "employ, make use of, practice, frequent," from Vulgar Latin *usare "use," frequentative form of past participle stem of Latin uti "make use of, profit by, take advantage of, enjoy, apply, consume," in Old Latin oeti "use, employ, exercise, perform," of uncertain origin. Related: Used; using. Replaced Old English brucan (see brook (v.)). From late 14c. as "take advantage of."

US

also U.S., abbreviation of United States, attested from 1834. U.S.A. for "United States of America" is recorded from 1885; before that it generally meant "U.S. Army."

useful (adj.)

1590s, from use (n.) + -ful. Related: Usefully; usefulness.

USA

also U.S.A., abbreviation of United States of America, in use by 1814 in addresses, etc.; not common otherwise before c. 1920. Before then it often also meant United States Army.

usable (adj.)

late 14c., from Old French usable "available, in use" (14c.), from user (see use (v.)). Not a common word before c. 1840, when probably it was re-formed from use (v.) + -able. Related: Usably.

usage (n.)

c. 1300, "established practice, custom," from Anglo-French and Old French usage "custom, habit, experience; taxes levied," from us, from Latin usus "use, custom" (see use (v.)). From late 14c. as "service, use, act of using something."

usb

initialism (acronym) for universal serial bus, by 1994.

useless (adj.)

1590s, from use (n.) + -less. Related: Uselessly; uselessness.

user (n.)

c. 1400, agent noun from use (v.). Of narcotics, from 1935; of computers, from 1967. User-friendly (1977) is said in some sources to have been coined by software designer Harlan Crowder as early as 1972.

username (n.)

by 1982, from user + name (n.).

usher (v.)

1590s, "conduct, escort, admit ceremoniously," from usher (n.). Related: Ushered; ushering.

usher (n.)

late 13c. (early 13c. as a surname), "servant who has charge of doors and admits people to a chamber, hall, etc.," from Anglo-French usser (12c.), Old French ussier, uissier "porter, doorman," from Vulgar Latin *ustiarius "doorkeeper," variant of Latin ostiarius "door-keeper," from ostium "door, entrance," from os "mouth" (from PIE *os- "mouth;" see oral). Fem. form usherette is attested by 1913, American English.

USSR

also U.S.S.R., initialism (acronym) of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, by 1926.

Ustashi

Croatian separatise movement, 1932, from Croatian Ustaše, plural of Ustaša "insurgent, rebel."

usually (adv.)

late 15c., from usual + -ly (2).

usual (adj.)

late 14c., from Old French usuel "current, in currency (of money), valid" (13c.) and directly from Late Latin usualis "ordinary," from Latin usus "custom" (see use (v.)). The usual suspects is from a line delivered by Claude Rains (as a French police inspector) in "Casablanca" (1942).

usufruct (n.)

"right to the use and profits of the property of another without damaging it," 1610s (implied in usufructuary), from Late Latin usufructus, in full usus et fructus "use and enjoyment," from Latin usus "a use" (see use (n.)) + fructus "enjoyment," also "fruit" (from PIE root *bhrug- "to enjoy," with derivatives referring to agricultural products). Attested earlier in delatinized form usufruit (late 15c.).

usurer (n.)

late 13c., "one who lends money at interest," but later especially "one who lends money at an exorbitant rate of interest," from Anglo-French usurer, Old French usurier, usureor, from Medieval Latin usurarius "money-lender, usurer," from Latin usurarius (adj.) "pertaining to interest; that pays interest," from usura (see usury).

usury (n.)

c. 1300, "practice of lending money at interest," later, at excessive rates of interest, from Medieval Latin usuria, alteration of Latin usura "payment for the use of money, interest," literally "a usage, use, enjoyment," from usus, from stem of uti (see use (v.)). From mid-15c. as "premium paid for the use of money, interest," especially "exorbitant interest."

usurious (adj.)

c. 1600, from usury + -ous. Related: Usuriously.

usurp (v.)

early 14c., from Old French usurper "to (wrongfully) appropriate" (14c.), from Latin usurpare "make use of, seize for use," in later Latin "to assume unlawfully, trespass on," from usus "a use" (see use (v.)) + rapere "to seize" (see rapid (adj.)). Related: Usurped; usurping.

usurper (n.)

early 15c., agent noun from usurp (v.).

usurpation (n.)

late 14c., from Old French usurpacion, from Latin usurpationem (nominative usurpatio) "a taking into use," noun of action from past participle stem of usurpare (see usurp).

Ute

1826; see Utah.

Utah

U.S. teritory organized 1850 (admitted as a state 1896), from Spanish yuta, name of the indigenous Uto-Aztecan people of the Great Basin (Modern English Ute), perhaps from Western Apache (Athabaskan) yudah "high" (in reference to living in the mountains).

utensil (n.)

late 14c., from Old French utensile "implement" (14c., Modern French ustensile), from Latin utensilia "materials, things for use," noun use of neuter plural of utensilis (adj.) "fit for use, of use, useful," from uti (see use (v.)).

uterine (adj.)

1610s, "pertaining to the womb" (from early 15c. as "having the same birth-mother"), from Old French uterin, from Late Latin uterinus "pertaining to the womb," also "born of the same mother," from Latin uterus "womb" (see uterus).

utero-

before vowels uter-, word-forming element, from combining form of Latin uterus (see uterus).

uterus (n.)

"female organ of gestation, womb," late 14c., from Latin uterus "womb, belly" (plural uteri), from PIE root *udero- "abdomen, womb, stomach" (source also of Sanskrit udaram "belly," Greek hystera "womb," Lithuanian vėderas "sausage, intestines, stomach, lower abdomen," Old Church Slavonic vedro "bucket, barrel," Russian vedro).

Utgard

abode of the giants in Norse mythology, from Old Norse Utgarðar, from ut "out" (see out (adv.)) + garðr "yard" (from PIE root *gher- (1) "to grasp, enclose").

utility (n.)

late 14c., "fact of being useful," from Old French utilite "usefulness" (13c., Modern French + utilité), earlier utilitet (12c.), from Latin utilitatem (nominative utilitas) "usefulness, serviceableness, profit," from utilis "usable," from uti "make use of, profit by, take advantage of" (see use (v.)). Meaning "a useful thing" is from late 15c. As a shortened form of public utility it is recorded from 1930.

utile (adj.)

late 15c., from Old French utile "useful" (13c.), from Latin utilis "useful, beneficial, profitable," from uti "make use of, profit by, take advantage of" (see use (v.)).

utilization (n.)

1847, noun of action from utilize. Compare French utilisation.

utilize (v.)

1794, from French utiliser, from Italian utilizzare, from utile "usable," from Latin utilis "usable," from uti "make use of, profit by, take advantage of" (see use (v.)).

utilisation (n.)

chiefly British English spelling of utilization (q.v.). For spelling, see -ize.

utilitarian (n.)

1781, coined by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) from utility + -arian on the model of + unitarian, etc. One guided by the doctrine of the greatest happiness for the greatest number. From 1802 as an adjective; in the general sense "having regard to utility rather than beauty," from 1847.

utilitarianism (n.)

1827, from utilitarian + -ism. The doctrine that the end of all action should be the greatest happiness of the greatest number.

utmost (adj.)

Old English utmest (Anglian) "outermost," double superlative of ut "out" (see out (adv.)) + -most. Meaning "being of the greatest or highest degree" is from early 14c.

utopia (n.)

1551, from Modern Latin Utopia, literally "nowhere," coined by Thomas More (and used as title of his book, 1516, about an imaginary island enjoying the utmost perfection in legal, social, and political systems), from Greek ou "not" + topos "place" (see topos). The current (since c. 1960) explanation of Greek ou "not" is an odd one, as it derives the word from the PIE root *aiw- "vital force, life; long life, eternity." Linguists presume a pre-Greek phrase *(ne) hoiu (kwid) "(not on your) life," with ne "not" + *kwid, an "emphasizing particle" [Watkins]. The same pattern is found elsewhere.

Extended to any perfect place by 1610s. Commonly, but incorrectly, taken as from Greek eu- "good" (see eu-) an error reinforced by the introduction of dystopia (by 1844). On the same model, Bentham had cacotopia (1818).

utopian (adj.)

1550s, with reference to More's fictional country; 1610s as "extravagantly ideal, impossibly visionary," from utopia + -an. As a noun meaning "visionary idealist" it is recorded by 1832 (also in this sense was utopiast, 1845). Utopian socialism is from 1849, originally pejorative, in reference to the Paris uprising of 1848; also a dismissive term in communist jargon, in reference to the ideas of Fourier, St. Simon, and Owen, "the pre-scientific and infantile stage" of modern, practical socialism.

utopianism (n.)

1783, from utopian + -ism.

utter (v.)

"speak, say," c. 1400, in part from Middle Dutch uteren or Middle Low German utern "to turn out, show, speak," from uter "outer," comparative adjective from ut "out" (see utter (adj.)); in part from Middle English verb outen "to disclose," from Old English utan "to put out," from ut (see out (v.)). Compare German äussern "to utter, express," from aus "out;" and colloquial phrase out with it "speak up!" Formerly also used as a commercial verb (as release is now). Related: Uttered; uttering.

utterance (n.)

"that which is uttered," c. 1400, from utter (v.) + -ance.

utter (adj.)

Old English utera, uterra, "outer, exterior, external," from Proto-Germanic *utizon (source also of Old Norse utar, Old Frisian uttra, Middle Dutch utere, Dutch uiter-, Old High German uzar, German äußer "outer"), comparative adjective from ut (see out (adv.)). Meaning "complete, total" (i.e. "going to the utmost point") is from early 15c.

utterly (adv.)

early 13c., "truly, plainly, outspokenly," from utter (v.) + -ly (1); meaning "to an absolute degree" is late 14c., from utter (adj.)). Cf similarly formed German äusserlich. Old English uterlic (adj.) meant "external."

uttermost (adj.)

late 14c., from utter (adj.) + -most. More recent than utmost. Compare utmost. Middle English had also uttermore (late 14c.), now, alas, no longer with us.

U-turn (n.)

1934, from U + turn (n.). So called in reference to the shape of the path described.

UV

abbreviation of ultraviolet, by 1928.

uvea (n.)

late 14c., from medical Latin uvea, from Latin uva "grape; uvula" (see uvula). Partial loan-translation of Greek hrago-eides (khiton) "(the covering) resembling berries or grapes" (Galen). Related: Uveal.

uvula (n.)

late 14c., from Late Latin uvula, from Latin uvola "small bunch of grapes," diminutive of uva "grape," from PIE root *og- "fruit, berry." So called from fancied resemblance of the organ to small grapes. Related: Uvular.

uxorious (adj.)

"excessively fond of or submissive to one's wife," 1590s, from Latin uxorius "of or pertaining to a wife," also "devoted to a wife" or "ruled by a wife," from uxor (genitive uxoris) "wife," according to Watkins from PIE *uk-sor- "'she who gets accustomed" (to a new household)' after patrilocal marriage."