Etymograph

English

ure

Ure comes from Middle English ure ‘use, habit, custom’, and goes back to Latin opera ‘work, labor’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopera1‘work, labor’
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400*ure1reconstructed
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ure1‘use, habit, custom’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1567ure1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ure
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1567, Ovid, The Seconde Booke: “I cannot vtter any more, for words waxe out…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperaWiktionary, English ure‘work, labor’
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400*ureWiktionary, English urereconstructed
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ureWiktionary, English ure‘use, habit, custom’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1567ureWiktionary, English ure. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1567, Ovid, The Seconde Booke: “I cannot vtter any more, for words waxe out…”

Linked words

through Latin opera ‘work, labor’

operation, operate, operator, opera, oeuvre, operetta, 10 more

Today it means

noun Use, practise, exercise.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ure”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin opera / ure

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