ours
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English oures, attested since the 1300s. Equivalent to our + -s (compare -'s); formed by analogy to his. Displaced ourn (from Middle English ouren) in standard speech.[1]
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈaʊəz/, /ɑːz/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈaʊɚz/, /ɑɹz/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -aʊə(ɹ)z, -ɑː(ɹ)z
- Homophone: hours
Pronoun edit
ours
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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References edit
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “ours”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Middle French ours, from Old French urs, from Latin ursus.
The Early Modern French pronunciation was /uʁ/ before consonants, /uʁz/ before vowels, and /uʁs/ in pausa. For the most part, the pausal pronunciations were eventually lost, but in some cases they were re-established as the basic form (reinforced in part by the spelling, in part by related words; in this case perhaps the feminine ourse).
Pronunciation edit
- IPA(key): /uʁs/ (standard)
- IPA(key): /uʁ/ (archaic pronunciation, either for both numbers or only for the plural)
Audio: (file) - Homophones: ourse, ourses
Noun edit
ours m (plural ours, feminine ourse)
- bear (animal)
- (figurative) A person like a bear:
- loner, someone who avoids company [since 1671]
- faire l’ours ― to be a loner
- 2024 May 25, “Couples Erasmus”, in Libération, →ISSN, page 5:
- Globalement, on trouvait que les Danois étaient un peu ours : ils disaient à peine bonjour quand on les croisait dans la résidence universitaire.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- beast, beastly person [since 1820]
- (gay slang) bear (hairy gay man)
- (obsolete) pressman, worker with a hand printing press [1700s—1800s]
- loner, someone who avoids company [since 1671]
- masthead, imprint (list of a publication's main staff)
- (cinematography) rough cut
- (slang) prison, jail
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
Further reading edit
- “ours”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
- “ours” in Dico en ligne Le Robert.
Middle English edit
Pronoun edit
ours
- Alternative form of oures
Middle French edit
Etymology edit
From Old French urs, from Latin ursus.
Noun edit
ours m (plural ours, feminine singular ourse, feminine plural ourses)
- bear (mammal)
Descendants edit
- French: ours
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms suffixed with -s
- English 2-syllable words
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/aʊə(ɹ)z
- Rhymes:English/aʊə(ɹ)z/2 syllables
- Rhymes:English/ɑː(ɹ)z
- Rhymes:English/ɑː(ɹ)z/2 syllables
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English pronouns
- English possessive pronouns
- English first person pronouns
- French terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- French terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- French terms inherited from Middle French
- French terms derived from Middle French
- French terms inherited from Old French
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms inherited from Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 1-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French terms with homophones
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- French terms with collocations
- French terms with quotations
- French gay slang
- French terms with obsolete senses
- fr:Cinematography
- French slang
- fr:Ursids
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English pronouns
- Middle French terms inherited from Old French
- Middle French terms derived from Old French
- Middle French terms inherited from Latin
- Middle French terms derived from Latin
- Middle French lemmas
- Middle French nouns
- Middle French masculine nouns
- Middle French countable nouns
- frm:Animals