ours

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

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

  • (General American), IPA(key): /ˈaʊɚz/, /ɑɹz/
  • (Received Pronunciation), IPA(key): /ˈaʊəz/, /ɑːz/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -aʊə(ɹ)z, -ɑː(ɹ)z
  • Homophone: hours

Pronoun

ours

  1. That which belongs to us; the possessive case of we, used without a following noun.

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. Douglas Harper (2001–2023), ours”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French ours, from Old French urs, from Latin ursus, from Proto-Italic *orssos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos (bear).

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

  • IPA(key): /uʁs/ (standard)
  • IPA(key): /uʁ/ (archaic pronunciation, either for both numbers or only for the plural)
  • (file)
  • Homophones: ourse, ourses

Noun

ours m (plural ours, feminine ourse)

  1. bear (animal)
  2. (gay slang) bear (hairy gay man)
  3. masthead (list of a newspaper's main staff)
  4. (cinematography) rough cut

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Haitian Creole: ous
  • Louisiana Creole: lours, lous
  • Mauritian Creole: lurs
  • Seychellois Creole: lours

Further reading

Middle English

Pronoun

ours

  1. Alternative form of oures

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French urs, from Latin ursus.

Noun

ours m (plural ours, feminine singular ourse, feminine plural ourses)

  1. bear (mammal)

Descendants

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