英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

Ursa Minor [Ursa Minor 词源字典]: "A northern constellation (the Little Bear), which contains the north celestial pole and the pole star Polaris. The brightest stars form a shape that is also known as the Little Dipper", Latin.[Ursa Minor etymology, Ursa Minor origin, 英语词源]
umfaan: "(Among Xhosa-speaking people) a young man who has gone through initiation but is not yet married", From Zulu and Xhosa umfana.
ujamaa: "(In Tanzania) a socialist system of village cooperatives based on equality of opportunity and self-help, established in the 1960s", Kiswahili, literally 'brotherhood', from jamaa 'family', from Arabic jamā‘a 'community'.
uniped: "A person or animal having only one foot or leg", Early 19th century: from uni- 'one' + pes, ped- 'foot'.
ubuntu: "A quality that includes the essential human virtues; compassion and humanity", Xhosa and Zulu.
urochord: "A notochord that is confined to or present in the tail region, especially as characteristic of certain tunicates (urochordates). Now rare", Late 19th cent.; earliest use found in Thomas Huxley (1825–1895), biologist and science educationist. From uro- + chord.
Uighur: "A member of a Turkic people of NW China, particularly the Xinjiang region, and adjoining areas", The name in Uighur.
ultramundane: "Existing outside the known world, the solar system, or the universe", Mid 17th century: from late Latin ultramundanus, from ultra 'beyond' + mundanus (from mundus 'world').
uranometry: "A work describing the heavens and especially the stars, giving their positions, magnitudes, etc. Compare uranoscopy. Now chiefly historical", Mid 17th cent.; earliest use found in John Sadler (1615–1674), political theorist and reformer. From urano- + -metry, after post-classical Latin uranometria uranometria. Compare French uranométrie, German Uranometrie.
Unix: "An operating system analogous to DOS and Windows, supporting multiple concurrent users", 1970s: from uni- 'one' + a respelling of -ics, on the pattern of an earlier less compact system called Multics.
uraemia: "A raised level in the blood of urea and other nitrogenous waste compounds that are normally eliminated by the kidneys", Mid 19th century: modern Latin, from Greek ouron 'urine' + haima 'blood'.
uranology: "The study of the stars or the heavens; astronomy. Also: a treatise or discourse on this subject; an astronomical system. Now chiefly historical", Mid 18th cent.; earliest use found in Benjamin Martin (bap. 1705, d. 1782), lecturer on science and maker of scientific instruments. From urano- + -logy. Compare post-classical Latin uranologia, ouranologia, Middle French, French uranologie, Portuguese uranologia.
uranolite: "A meteorite", Early 19th cent.; earliest use found in The Monthly Magazine and British Register. From urano- + -lite, after French uranolyte.
uranoscopy: "The observation or study of celestial objects. Compare uranometry. Now historical and rare", Late 16th cent.; earliest use found in Richard Harvey (d. 1630), astrologer and polemicist. Probably from urano- + -scopy. Compare post-classical Latin uranoscopia, modern Greek οὐρανοσκοπία, Italian uranoscopia.
ulu: "An Eskimo woman’s short-handled knife with a broad crescent-shaped blade", Inuit.
umbriferous: "Providing shade", Early 17th century: from Latin umbrifer (from umbra 'shade' + -fer 'bearing') + -ous.
uroboros: "A circular symbol depicting a snake, or less commonly a dragon, swallowing its tail, as an emblem of wholeness or infinity", 1940s: from Greek (drakōn) ouroboros '(snake) devouring its tail'.
ustad: "An expert or highly skilled person, especially a musician", From Urdu ustād.
usance: "another term for usage", Late Middle English: from Old French, from the base of the verb user 'to use'.
uniparous: "Producing a single offspring at a birth", Mid 17th century: from modern Latin uniparus (from Latin uni- 'one' + -parus 'bearing') + -ous.