Uraeus
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A representation of the sacred asp, symbolising supreme power in ancient Egypt.
"In front is an inlaid cobra, the Royal uræus, and around the band are attached 15 rosettes, each composed of four flowers and four leaves of openwork inlaid."
Example
More examples"In front is an inlaid cobra, the Royal uræus, and around the band are attached 15 rosettes, each composed of four flowers and four leaves of openwork inlaid."
Etymology
From Latin uraeus, from Ancient Greek οὐραῖος (ouraîos). This is traditionally assumed to be from Egyptian jꜥrt (“cobra in threat posture”), i-a:r:*t-I12, from jꜥr (“to rise, climb”); however, on phonetic grounds, Gundacker, following Fecht, argues for an origin in Egyptian wrrt (“White Crown, uraeus”, literally “the great one”) instead.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.