ursine
- adjective
- /ˈɜrˌsaɪn/
:
ursino
- She drew an ursine character for her children's book.
Examples
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The costume was designed to give the actor an ursine appearance.
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The ursine features of the animal were evident in its large paws.
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Her ursine strength surprised everyone in the competition.
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The zoologist noted the ursine features of the large animal.
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The children's book featured an ursine character that taught them about nature.
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The museum had a stunning display of ursine fossils that fascinated all the visitors.
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The film depicted an ursine creature roaming through the woods during the winter months.
Synonyms
Like a bear in looks or behavior, for example large and furry
Compounds
- Australian
A small fierce animal from New Guinea that eats meat and has black fur and a long tail
How Bear-like
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
ursine = bear (opaque) = urs + ine
The adjective is formed with the Latin combining form 'urs-' plus '-ine'; learners who know the English word 'bear' will not transparently derive 'ursine' from it.
Etymology
Ursine comes from the Latin word ursus, which means 'bear', and the name Ursula comes from the same root and means 'little bear'. So ursine is used to describe something that is 'bear-like' or relating to bears.
