Ur-

Ur-

Ur- is a German prefix meaning "proto-", "first", "oldest", "original" when used with a noun. In combination with an adjective, it can be translated as the intensifier "very".

Examples

Urgeschichte (prehistory)
Ureinwohner (first inhabitants, natives)
Urauff�hrung (first night, premiere)
Urabstimmung (plebiscite, particularly among the members of a labor union; grassroots decision)
Urkirche (the Christian church in the 1st century AD)
Urwald (jungle)
Urinstinkt (basic instinct)
Urgro�mutter (great-grandmother)

Note that not all German nouns starting with Ur- follow this pattern. For instance, Urlaub (vacation, holiday), Urteil (verdict), or Urin (urine) have different etymologies and altogether different meanings.

There is also an adjective, uralt ("very old"), which has existed for a long time. Recently, however, the prefix ur- has been used productively, especially by young speakers, to create countless neologisms. New words include the colloquialisms urfad ("very boring"), urgeil and urcool (both meaning "super", "very nice").

In English, the word Urtext is used for something which would be called Urfassung ("first draft") in German.

Examples

See also