emu

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments  · 
“
They are bold enough to rush into a yard, and to carry off a calf, or a pig; and when they have dragged it into the woods, they cruelly eat the legs first, and do not kill it for a long while These three--the kangaroo, the opossum, and the dingo,--are the principal beasts of Australia Among the birds, the emu is the most remarkable.

View all »
Definitions (11)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. noun A large, flightless Australian bird (Dromiceius novaehollandiae) related to and resembling the ostrich and the cassowary.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (7)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (2)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • The kick of an emu is a serious if not a dangerous one, and is delivered in a forward direction, and not from behind like the kick of a horse. —  MY STRANGE PETS AND Other Memories of Country Life
  • Those of the rhea appear to the eye rather longer in shape and as much in circumference as the emu, but by actual measurement they are very nearly the same. —  MY STRANGE PETS AND Other Memories of Country Life
  • The only dream I had involved an emu, an ostrich, a camel, and a Harvey-sized bleeding rabbit all attempting to draw and quarter me. —  F ;SF - vol 098 issue 04 - April 2000
  • Rufus, in this world as in mine, didn't care that the emu was enormous and deadly. —  F ;SF - vol 098 issue 04 - April 2000
  • The Force that (Pick one: created/allowed Evolution to create) the emu, the mandrill, and disco music has to have an ironic sense of humor. —  F ;SF; - vol 087 issue 01 - July 1994
More examples »
 

Tags

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 65 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Portuguese ema, rhea.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Also emew, emeu; = Portuguese ema; prob. from a native name.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/ˈimju/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word a few times a year.

Recently looked up

ua · red-legged · monopolizing · Grater · thrum

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

Glockenspiel · Ersatz · Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut und Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid · Haifischschwanzflossenfleischsuppe · Der Kottbusser Postkutscher putzt den Kottbusser Postkutschkasten