UR-

The original - the second rune ...

ur-3

(sometimes initial capital letter)

a combining form meaning “earliest, original,” used in words denoting the primal stage of a historical or cultural entity or phenomenon: ur-civilization; urtext.

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[Origin: < minmax_bound="true">ur-, MHG, OHG; c. OE or-]

ur- 3 pref. Original; prototypical: ur-feminist; ur-language. [From German ur-, original; see Ursprache.]

ur-

prefix meaning "original, earliest, primitive," from Ger. "original, primitive;" at first only in words borrowed from Ger. (cf. ursprache "hypothetical primitive language," attested in Eng. from 1908), now a living prefix in Eng. Cf. also Urschleim under protoplasm and Urquell under Pilsner.