emu

UK: 'EMU': /ˌiːɛmˈjuː/; 'emu': /ˈiːmjuː/ US: (ē′myo̅o̅)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

e•mu  (ē′myo̅o̅), n. 

1. Birds a large, flightless, ratite bird, Emu (Dromaius) novaehollandiae, of Australia, resembling the ostrich but smaller and having a feathered head and neck and rudimentary wings.

• Portuguese ema, attested in 1541 as a name for the cassowary (further origin, originally obscure); the replacement of -a by -eu, etc., is unexplained
• earlier emeu (in earliest English source emia, eme), ultimately 1605–15

EMU, 

1. Aerospace, Electricity Also, emu  See electromagnetic unit. 
2. Aerospace See extravehicular mobility unit. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

emu / ˈiːmjuː/ noun

1. a large Australian flightless bird, Dromaius novaehollandiae, similar to the ostrich but with three-toed feet and grey or brown plumage: order Casuariiformes
   See also ratite

Etymology: 17th Century: changed from Portuguese ema ostrich, from Arabic Na-`amah ostrich

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

EMU abbreviation

1. European Monetary Union
2. Economic and Monetary Union
3. See e.m.u.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

e.m.u., EMU abbreviation

1. electromagnetic unit