ur-

¹ American  

1. variant of uro-.

   uranalysis.

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ur- ² American  

1. variant of uro- before a vowel.

   urite.

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ur- ³ American  

(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.

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Ur ⁴ American  

[ur, oor] / ɜr, ʊər /

noun

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

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UR ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. you are

2. your

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Ur ² British  

/ ɜː /

noun

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

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Ur- ³ British  

combining form

1. original, primitive

   Ursprache

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ur- ⁴ British  

combining form

1. a variant of uro- 1 uro- 2

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Usage

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.”

Etymology

Origin of ur-

< German ur-, Middle High German, Old High German; cognate with Old English or-

Example Sentences

Weyland-Yutani’s primary mainframe, MU/TH/UR, has mercenary reasons for that choice, but for the bulk of “Badlands” and even after that twist is revealed, Thia persuades Dek that empathy can be as useful in his arsenal as she is, especially in seeing the value of a small being they pick up along the way that she calls Bud.

From Salon

She first shared the news of the car theft online along with a picture of a birthday cake with the the words "sorry ur car got stolen" written on it.

From BBC

The region's city-states -- Ur, Uruk, and Lagash among them -- developed complex political and religious systems that became the blueprint for later societies.

From Science Daily

Political analyst Zahed Ur Rahman, a member of the government's electoral reform commission, said Hasina was risking protesters' safety to maintain relevance.

From Barron's

Battling the heat, singer Rhian Teasdale poured cans of water over her head between fan favourite songs like Ur Mum and recent single Catch These Fists, but the biggest reception was reserved for their breakout hit Chaise Longue.

From BBC