ursine
/ˈɝsaɪn/adjective, noun
ursine is spelled U-R-S-I-N-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 22 million words in written English, the 143,405th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, ursine means “Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of bears” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ursine?
| Letters | 6: U-R-S-I-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 22 million words; the 143,405th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ursine?
Ursine appears about once in every 22 million words in written English, the 143,405th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ursine?
- UK /ˈɜː.saɪn/
- US /ˈɝsaɪn/
- US /ˈɝsɪn/
Ursine has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ursine.ogg, En-us-ursine-2.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ursine?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as ursine (/ɜɹsaɪn/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: insure, nursie.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of ursine
- more ursine comparative
- most ursine superlative
- ursines plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ursine mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of bears.
[…] we noted that a preponderance of the evidence supports an ursine origin for the giant panda.
- 2
Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the bear subfamily Ursinae.
- 3
Covered in stiff bristles.
noun
- 1
A bear.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ursine in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of or relating to bears:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ursine come from?
Mid 16th century, from Latin ursīnus, adjectival form of ursus (“bear”) + -ine.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).