Online Etymology Dictionary

urge (v.): 1550s, from Latin urgere "to press hard, push forward, force, drive, compel, stimulate," from PIE root *wreg- "to push, shove, drive" (source also of Lithuanian verziu "tie, fasten, squeeze," vargas "need, distress," vergas "slave;" Old Church Slavonic vragu "enemy;" Gothic wrikan "persecute," Old English wrecan "drive, hunt, pursue"). Related: Urged; urging.
urge (n.): 1610s, "act of urging," from urge (v.). Marked as "rare" in Century Dictionary (1902); "in frequent use from c. 1910" [OED].
urgency (n.): 1530s, probably from urgent + -cy.
urgent (adj.): mid-15c., from Middle French urgent "pressing, impelling" (14c.), from Latin urgentem (nominative urgens), present participle of urgere "to press hard, urge" (see urge (v.)). Related: Urgently.
Uriah: masc. proper name, in Old Testament, the Hittite husband of Bathsheba; of non-Hebrew (possibly Horite) origin, but explained by folk etymology as Hebrew Uriyyah, literally "flame of the Lord." Uriah Heep, character from Dickens' "David Copperfield" (1850) sometimes is invoked as the type of a hypocritically humble person.
uric (adj.): "pertaining to or obtained from urine," 1797, from French urique, from urine (see urine). Uric acid attested from 1800.
urinal (n.): c. 1200, "glass vial to receive urine for medical inspection," from Old French urinal, from Late Latin urinal, from urinalis (adj.) "relating to urine," from Latin urina (see urine). Meaning "chamber pot" is from late 15c. Modern sense of "fixture for urinating (for men)" is attested from 1851.
urinalysis (n.): 1889, from urine + analysis.
urinary (adj.): 1570s, from Modern Latin urinarius, from Latin urina (see urine).
urinate (v.): 1590s, back-formation from urination or else from Medieval Latin urinatus, past participle of urinare, from urina (see urine). Related: Urinated; urinating.
urination (n.): early 15c., from Medieval Latin urinationem (nominative urinatio), noun of action from past participle stem of urinare (v.), from urina (see urine.
urine (n.): c. 1300, from Old French orine, urine (12c.) and directly from Latin urina "urine," from PIE *ur- (source also of Greek ouron "urine"), variant of root *we-r- "water, liquid, milk" (source also of Sanskrit var "water," Avestan var "rain," Lithuanian jures "sea," Old English wær, Old Norse ver "sea," Old Norse ur "drizzling rain"), related to *eue-dh-r (see udder).
URL: by 1990, initialism (acronym) from uniform resource locator.
urn (n.): late 14c., "large, rounded vase used to preserve the ashes of the dead," from Latin urna "a jar, vessel of baked clay, water-jar; vessel for the ashes of the dead" (also used as a ballot box and for drawing lots), probably from earlier *urc-na, akin to urceus "pitcher, jug," and from the same source as Greek hyrke "earthen vessel." But another theory connects it to Latin urere "to burn" (compare bust (n.1)).
uro-: word-forming element meaning "urine," from comb. form of Greek ouron "urine" (see urine).
urogenital (adj.): 1838, from uro- + genital. Form urinogenital is attested from 1836.
urologist (n.): 1873; see urology + -ist.
urology (n.): 1753, from uro- + -logy.
Ursa: in constellation names, Old English, from Latin ursa "she-bear" (see ursine).
urschleim (n.): 1921, from German Urschleim "original mucus," from ur- (see ur-) + Schleim (see slime (n.)).
ursine (adj.): "pertaining to a bear," 1550s, from Latin ursinus "of or resembling a bear," from ursus "a bear," cognate with Greek arktos, from PIE *rtko- (see Arctic).
ursprache (n.): "proto-language," 1908, from German Ursprache, from ur- (see ur-) + sprache "speech" (see speech).
Ursula: fem. proper name, from Latin Ursula, diminutive of ursa "she-bear" (see ursine). The Ursuline order of Catholic women was founded as Brescia in 1537 and named for Saint Ursula.
urticaria (n.): "nettle-rash," medical Latin, from Latin urtica "nettle, stinging nettle" (figuratively "spur, incentive, stimulant), from urere "to burn," from PIE root *eus- "to burn" (see ember) + abstract noun ending -ia. Related: Urticarial.
Uruguay: country named for river that flows past it, which is from a native name in an extinct language, said to represent uru "bird" + guay "tail," perhaps a reference to some totemic animal. Related: Uruguayan.
us (pron.): Old English us (cognate with Old Saxon, Old Frisian us, Old Norse, Swedish oss, Dutch ons, German uns), accusative and dative plural of we, from PIE *nes- (2), forming oblique cases of the first person plural personal pronoun (source also of Sanskrit nas, Avestan na, Hittite nash "us;" Greek no "we two;" Latin nos "we, us;" Old Church Slavonic ny "us," nasu "our;" Old Irish ni, Welsh ni "we, us"). The -n- is preserved in Germanic in Dutch ons, German uns.
US: also U.S., abbreviation of United States, attested from 1834. U.S.A. for "United States of America" is recorded from 1885; before that it generally meant "U.S. Army."
USA: also U.S.A., abbreviation of United States of America, in use by 1814 in addresses, etc.; not common otherwise before c. 1920. Before then it often also meant United States Army.
usable (adj.): late 14c., from Old French usable "available, in use" (14c.), from user (see use (v.)). Not a common word before c. 1840, when probably it was re-formed from use (v.) + -able. Related: Usably.
usage (n.): c. 1300, "established practice, custom," from Anglo-French and Old French usage "custom, habit, experience; taxes levied," from us, from Latin usus "use, custom" (see use (v.)). From late 14c. as "service, use, act of using something."
usb: initialism (acronym) for universal serial bus, by 1994.
use (v.): c. 1200, "employ for a purpose," from Old French user "employ, make use of, practice, frequent," from Vulgar Latin *usare "use," frequentative form of past participle stem of Latin uti "make use of, profit by, take advantage of, enjoy, apply, consume," in Old Latin oeti "use, employ, exercise, perform," of uncertain origin. Related: Used; using. Replaced Old English brucan (see brook (v.)). From late 14c. as "take advantage of."
use (n.): c. 1200, "act of employing," from Anglo-French and Old French us "custom, practice, usage," from Latin usus "use, custom, practice, employment, skill, habit," from past participle stem of uti "make use of, profit by, take advantage of" (see use (v.)).
used (adj.): "second-hand," 1590s, past participle adjective from use (v.). To be used to "accustomed, familiar" is recorded by late 14c. Verbal phrase used to "formerly did or was" (as in I used to love her) represents a construction attested from c. 1300, and common from c. 1400, from use (intransitive) "be accustomed, practice customarily," but now surviving only in past tense form. The pronunciation is affected by the t- of to. Used-to-be (n.) "one who has outlived his fame" is from 1853.
useful (adj.): 1590s, from use (n.) + -full. Related: Usefully; usefulness.
useless (adj.): 1590s, from use (n.) + -less. Related: Uselessly; uselessness.
user (n.): c. 1400, agent noun from use (v.). Of narcotics, from 1935; of computers, from 1967. User-friendly (1977) is said in some sources to have been coined by software designer Harlan Crowder as early as 1972.
username (n.): by 1982, from user + name (n.).
usher (n.): late 13c., "servant who has charge of doors and admits people to a chamber, hall, etc.," from Anglo-French usser (12c.), Old French ussier, uissier "porter, doorman," from Vulgar Latin *ustiarius "doorkeeper," variant of Latin ostiarius "door-keeper," from ostium "door, entrance," from os "mouth," from PIE *os- "mouth" (see oral). Fem. form usherette is attested from 1913, American English.
usher (v.): 1590s, "conduct, escort, admit ceremoniously," from usher (n.). Related: Ushered; ushering.
USSR: also U.S.S.R., initialism (acronym) of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, by 1926.
Ustashi: Croatian separatise movement, 1932, from Croatian Ustaše, plural of Ustaša "insurgent, rebel."
usual (adj.): late 14c., from Old French usuel "current, in currency (of money), valid" (13c.) and directly from Late Latin usualis "ordinary," from Latin usus "custom" (see use (v.)). The usual suspects is from a line delivered by Claude Rains (as a French police inspector) in "Casablanca" (1942).
usually (adv.): late 15c., from usual + -ly (2).
usufruct (n.): "right to the use and profits of the property of another without damaging it," 1610s (implied in usufructuary), from Late Latin usufructus, in full usus et fructus "use and enjoyment," from Latin usus "a use" (see use (n.)) + fructus "enjoyment," literally "fruit" (see fruit). Attested earlier in delatinized form usufruit (late 15c.).
usurer (n.): late 13c., "one who lends money at interest," but later especially "one who lends money at an exorbitant rate of interest," from Anglo-French usurer, Old French usurier, usureor, from Medieval Latin usurarius "money-lender, usurer," from Latin usurarius (adj.) "pertaining to interest; that pays interest," from usura (see usury).
usurious (adj.): c. 1600, from usury + -ous. Related: Usuriously.
usurp (v.): early 14c., from Old French usurper "to (wrongfully) appropriate" (14c.), from Latin usurpare "make use of, seize for use," in later Latin "to assume unlawfully, trespass on," from usus "a use" (see use (v.)) + rapere "to seize" (see rapid (adj.)). Related: Usurped; usurping.
usurpation (n.): late 14c., from Old French usurpacion, from Latin usurpationem (nominative usurpatio) "a taking into use," noun of action from past participle stem of usurpare (see usurp).
usurper (n.): early 15c., agent noun from usurp (v.).