ours

• our's (obsolete)

From Middle English oures, attested since the 1300s. Equivalent to our +‎ -s (compare -'s); formed by analogy to his. Displaced ourn (from Middle English ouren) in standard speech.[1]

• (Received Pronunciation), IPA^(key): /ˈaʊəz/, /ɑːz/
• (General American), IPA^(key): /ˈaʊɚz/, /ɑɹz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊə(ɹ)z, -ɑː(ɹ)z
• Homophone: hours

ours

1. That which belongs to us; the possessive case of we, used without a following noun.

• Ruso, sour

Inherited from Middle French ours, from Old French urs, from Latin ursus.

The Early Modern French pronunciation was /uʁ/ before consonants, /uʁz/ before vowels, and /uʁs/ in pausa. For the most part, the pausal pronunciations were eventually lost, but in some cases they were re-established as the basic form (reinforced in part by the spelling, in part by related words; in this case perhaps the feminine ourse).

• IPA^(key): /uʁs/ (standard)
• IPA^(key): /uʁ/ (archaic pronunciation, either for both numbers or only for the plural)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: ourse, ourses

ours m (plural ours, feminine ourse)

1. bear (animal)
2. (figurative) A person like a bear:
   1. loner, someone who avoids company [since 1671]

      faire l’ours ― to be a loner

   2. beast, beastly person [since 1820]
   3. (gay slang) bear (hairy gay man)
   4. (obsolete) pressman, worker with a hand printing press [1700s—1800s]
3. masthead, imprint (list of a publication's main staff)
4. (cinematography) rough cut
5. (slang) prison, jail

• Haitian Creole: ous
• Louisiana Creole: lours, lous
• Mauritian Creole: lurs
• Seychellois Creole: lours

• “ours”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
• “ours” in Dico en ligne Le Robert.

ours

1. Alternative form of oures

From Old French urs, from Latin ursus.

ours m (plural ours, feminine singular ourse, feminine plural ourses)

1. bear (mammal)

• French: ours