What does ur- mean, as in ur-landscape? What is its origin? What
language does it come from? Does it have any link with uber- ?

In what other contexts can I use ur- ?

How do I pronounce it?

And will I sound pretentious if I use it?

Dear sadgrove,

The prefix "ur-" derives from the Old High German language.
Originally, it meant "from", or "out of", to indicate an origin, a
root or a beginning of something.

The prefix is still used in modern German. Adding "Ur-" to a noun
expresses that something was the first of its kind, standing at the
beginning of a long line. For example, when adding "Ur-" to the word
"Sprache" (=language), the resulting word is "Ursprache". This is the
common German linguistic term for "protolanguage".
Another example: "Urmensch", a combination of "Ur-" and "Mensch"
(=man, human being). The term Urmensch characterizes prehistoric man,
the beginning of modern mankind. He lived in the "Urzeit" (Zeit=time),
in prehistoric times (not to be confused with "Uhrzeit", time of day).
The prefix Ur- often implies that something is very ancient.
Sometimes, it can also mean that something has remained unchanged and
in its original state since a long time. This is the case, for
example, in "Urwald" (Wald=forest), which denotes a virgin forest
untouched by human intervention. It is also true in the case of the
German-English compound "ur-landscape". Note that in German, unlike in
English, prefixes merge with the original word to a new word of its
own, with no hyphen.

The prefix "ur-" can also be used with adjectives, though this is done
less often. For example, "uralt" (alt=old) means very old, ancient.

If you want to pronounce the prefix correctly, you will have to
pronounce it "oor-", like in "moor" or "boor".

The prefix "ur-" has no connection with the German "über" (note the
umlaut dots on the u), which means, depending on the context, "over",
"above", "across", "atop", including the meaning that someting is
overdone, blown out of all proportions.

It is hard to say how usage of this prefix will make you sound to
others. After all, it depends on what kind of people you are talking
to. I expect that educated people, especially if they have some
knowledge of the German language and the meaning of this German
prefix, might understand and appreciate correct usage. On the other
hand, using it when talking to a bunch of nitwits might cause nothing
but ignorant laughter.


I hope that this answers your question!
Regards,
Scriptor

An outstanding answer. Thank you.

Ur is also the name of an ancient Sumerian city somewhere near the Euphrates.

Here in the UK it often appears in crosswords.

Should you use it and get accused of being pretentious, you can always
excuse yourself by declaring: 'To Ur is Human'.

Gottverdammich be daring ... use it!