Ursula

Ursula

See also: Úrsula, Uršula, and Uršuľa

English

Etymology

Name of a fourth century saint, Latin Ursula, from ursa (“female bear”) and -ula (diminutive suffix), meaning "little she-bear".

Proper noun

Ursula

1. A female given name.
   • 1598–1599 (first performance)​, William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)]:

     :Scene I:

     Whisper her ear, and tell her, I and Ursula / Walk in the orchard, and our whole discourse / Is all of her;

   • 1857 Dinah Craik, John Halifax, Gentleman, Chapter III:

     "Is her name Ursula?" And I called to mind the little girl who had tried to give some bread to the hungry John Halifax, and whose cry of pain we heard as the door shut upon her. Poor little lady! how sorry I was.

Derived terms

• Ursulian
• Ursuline

Translations

female given name

Czech: Uršula, Voršila (cs) f Esperanto: Ursula Estonian: Ursula French: Ursule (fr) f German: Ursula (de) Hungarian: Orsolya (hu) Italian: Orsola (it), Ursula (it) Polish: Urszula (pl)

Portuguese: Úrsula (pt) f Romansch: Uorschla f Russian: Урсу́ла m (Ursúla) Slovak: Uršuľa f Sorbian: Upper Sorbian: Wórša (hsb) f Spanish: Úrsula (es)

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Estonian

Etymology

From Latin Ursula.

Proper noun

Ursula

1. A female given name.

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Finnish

Etymology

From Latin Ursula.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈursulɑ/, [ˈurs̠ulɑ]
• Hyphenation: Ur‧su‧la

Proper noun

Ursula

1. A female given name.
   • 1961 Maria Partanen. Valkeat talot, WSOY, page 84:

     Ja kaikki tekivät ehdotuksia. Minäkin olisin halunnut oikein kauniin nimen vauvalle mutta en saanut sitä sanotuksi, kukaan ei kysynyt minulta. Ja äiti sanoi:

     —Pannaankos Ursula Genoveva.

     Kaikki nauroivat mutta minun sydämessä tuntui ihan tuska. Hädissäni minä juoksin makuukamariin äidin sängyn alle ja rukoilin: hyvä Jumala elä anna niiden antaa vauvalle sellasta nimmee. Minä ihan itkin: Ursula Genoveva. Se oli kauhea, se oli ihan julma hyi se oli inhottava nimi.

Declension

Inflection of Ursula (Kotus type 12/kulkija, no gradation)
nominative		Ursula	Ursulat
genitive		Ursulan	Ursuloiden Ursuloitten
partitive		Ursulaa	Ursuloita
illative		Ursulaan	Ursuloihin
		singular	plural
nominative		Ursula	Ursulat
accusative	nom.	Ursula	Ursulat
	gen.	Ursulan
genitive		Ursulan	Ursuloiden Ursuloitten Ursulainrare
partitive		Ursulaa	Ursuloita
inessive		Ursulassa	Ursuloissa
elative		Ursulasta	Ursuloista
illative		Ursulaan	Ursuloihin
adessive		Ursulalla	Ursuloilla
ablative		Ursulalta	Ursuloilta
allative		Ursulalle	Ursuloille
essive		Ursulana	Ursuloina
translative		Ursulaksi	Ursuloiksi
instructive		—	Ursuloin
abessive		Ursulatta	Ursuloitta
comitative		—	Ursuloineen

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German

Etymology

From Latin Ursula in the Middle Ages.

Proper noun

Ursula

1. A female given name.

Usage notes

• Very popular in German speaking countries from the 1930s to the 1960s.

Related terms

• Ursel
• Uschi

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Swedish

Etymology

From Latin Ursula. First recorded in Sweden in 1477.

Proper noun

Ursula c (genitive Ursulas)

1. A female given name.

See also

• Yrsa

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Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish Úrsula.

Proper noun

Ursula

1. A female given name