Learn Greek › B1 › ουρά
ουρά
tail /uˈra/
nounB1#1210 most common
Also: queue, line (of people or vehicles)
Example sentences
Ο σκύλος κουνάει την ουρά του.
The dog wags its tail.
Η γάτα έχει μακριά ουρά.
The cat has a long tail.
Κάναμε ουρά έξω από το μαγαζί.
We stood in a queue outside the shop.
Η ουρά στο ταμείο ήταν πολύ μεγάλη σήμερα.
The line at the checkout was very long today.
Το αεροπλάνο είχε βλάβη στην ουρά του.
The airplane had a fault in its tail.
Η ουρά των ανέργων έξω από το γραφείο εργασίας μεγάλωνε κάθε πρωί.
The line of unemployed people outside the job center grew longer every morning.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | η ουρά | οι ουρές |
| Genitive | της ουράς | των ουρών |
| Accusative | την ουρά | τις ουρές |
| Vocative | ουρά | ουρές |
Word family
ουραίοςcaudal, of or near the tail
ουρίτσαlittle tail (diminutive)
ουραγόςthe one at the back of a line or formation
κάνω ουράto stand in a queue
ουρά αναμονήςwaiting line
Etymology
Modern Greek ουρά descends directly from Ancient Greek οὐρά, meaning tail. Its origin before that is unclear. Beekes treats it as a word without a secure Indo-European etymology, possibly a survival from a pre-Greek substrate language. The extended sense of a queue or line of people is a later, natural metaphor: a line of waiting people looks like a tail trailing behind a body.
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