Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ursine

/ˈɝsaɪn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.65 in modern English

Syllables: ur-sine
IPA: /ˈɝsaɪn/

6

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of bears.

adj

Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the bear subfamily Ursinae.

adj

Covered in stiff bristles.

noun

name

A census-designated place in Lincoln County, Nevada, United States.

Example Sentences

"The British chief having undergone the ursine embrace of the Seikh monarch, the whole cavalcade proceeded towards the town."
"[…] the old man's eccentricities, sometimes bordering on the ursine, repelled the juniors […]"
"[…] we noted that a preponderance of the evidence supports an ursine origin for the giant panda."
"2004, in Donald G. Lindburg and Karen Baragona (eds.), Giant Pandas: Biology and Conservation, Berkeley: University of California Press, Part Two, Introduction, p. 37, https://books.google.ca/books?id=bFKrwj73REIC&pg=PA37"

Etymology

Mid 16th century, from Latin ursīnus, adjectival form of ursus (“bear”) + -ine.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: ursīnus

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɝsaɪn/
British English: /ˈɜː.saɪn/

Inflected Forms

more ursine (comparative) most ursine (superlative) ursines (plural)

Derived Forms

brankursine subursine

Phrases

ursine baboon ursine dasyure ursine howler ursine seal

Synonyms

bearlike bearly

Questions

How do you pronounce ursine?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɝsaɪn/.
What does ursine mean?: Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of bears.
Where does ursine come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce ursine

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ursine”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɝsaɪn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “ursine”.
Repeat and practice — Say “ursine” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.