ursinus

Ursinus is a Latin adjective meaning bear-like, derived from ursus, the word for bear. In taxonomy, ursinus is commonly used as a species epithet in zoology and botany to indicate a bear-like resemblance or association with bears. The form appears in masculine Latin names and is often Latinized in scientific binomials. One well-known use is Arctodus ursinus, the extinct short-faced bear of North America, a large carnivore that lived during the Pleistocene.

Historically, Ursinus is also a surname derived from the same Latin root. The most notable bearer is Zacharias Ursinus, a 16th-century German Reformed theologian who helped author the Heidelberg Catechism. The Ursinus name is commemorated in Ursinus College, a liberal arts college in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, founded in the 19th century and named for Zacharias Ursinus.

Usage of ursinus as a taxonomic epithet is widespread but not universal; it appears in many genera across animals and plants to signal bear-like characteristics or to honor bears. The English adjective ursine corresponds to the Latin ursinus in some contexts, while the feminine and neuter forms appear in different grammatical agreements in Latinized names.