Urus
/ˈjʊərəs/noun
A large extinct wild ox of Europe and western Asia, also called the aurochs.
Did you know?Julius Caesar described the urus as nearly elephant-sized and claimed that captured animals could not be tamed, though his account likely exaggerated its dimensions.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*uros
“Wild ox or aurochs; the exact Proto-Indo-European reconstruction is debated.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
οὖρος (ouros)
“A wild ox or aurochs, attested in ancient zoological vocabulary.”
Classical Latin
Latin
ūrus
“A wild ox, especially the huge European aurochs.”
1st Century BCE
Latin
urus
“The fierce wild ox described by Julius Caesar in his account of northern Europe.”
Middle English
English
urus
“A learned zoological name for the wild ox.”
Modern English
English
urus
“The aurochs, Bos primigenius, extinct in the wild since the seventeenth century.”