Ursa
/ˈɜːr.sə/noun
A bear; especially used in the names of the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
Did you know?Ursa comes from Latin *ursa* “she-bear,” from the same Indo-European root as Greek *arktos*—the root behind the word *Arctic*, literally the “bear place.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂ŕ̥tḱos
“bear”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἄρκτος (árktos)
“bear”
Latin
Latin
ursus / ursa
“bear; she-bear”
Classical Latin / Roman astronomy
Latin
Ursa Major / Ursa Minor
“the Great Bear and Little Bear constellations”
Modern English
English
Ursa
“the name used for the bear constellations”