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Glite Dictionary
Ursus maritimus

Ursus maritimus

7.7
A large white bear that lives in the Arctic and hunts on sea ice
  • proper noun
  • /ˈɜr.səs ˌmɛr.ɪˈtiː.məs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Ursus maritimus
  • The scientific name for the polar bear is Ursus maritimus.

Examples

  • Researchers observed a group of Ursus maritimus hunting on the sea ice.

  • The Ursus maritimus is specially adapted to life in the harsh Arctic climate.

  • Climate change poses a major threat to the survival of Ursus maritimus.

  • Did you know that Ursus maritimus is adapted to cold climates?

  • Climate change poses a major threat to the survival of Ursus maritimus.

  • Researchers observed a group of Ursus maritimus hunting on the sea ice.

  • Did you know that Ursus maritimus is adapted to cold climates?

Synonyms

polar bear
vsUrsus maritimus
  • US
37 1.1

A large white bear that lives in the Arctic and hunts seals on sea ice

is the formal Latin species name used to refer to that animal
Thalarctos maritimus
vsUrsus maritimus
  • Archaic
9.9

A large white bear that lives in the Arctic and hunts on sea ice

is the other Latin species name referring to that same Arctic white bear
ice bear
vsUrsus maritimus
2.3

A large white bear that lives in the Arctic and hunts seals

is the formal Latin species name rather than a common name

Surface Forms

Ursus maritimus main

Morphology

Ursus + maritimus

The name is compositionally built from Latin constituents (Ursus = bear; maritimus = of the sea), so a learner who knew both parts could infer a ‘sea/ maritime bear’ notion. However, it relies on knowledge of Latin and biological binomial conventions to map that inference to the specific species 'polar bear', so the relation is only partially transparent and not fully predictable for a typical B1 learner.

Etymology

Ursus maritimus comes from Latin: ursus ('bear') and maritimus ('of the sea'). People gave this name because the animal lives and hunts on sea ice and often swims in the ocean, so the name today refers to the 'polar bear'.