Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-
Latin ūls
Proto-Indo-European *-teros?
Latin -ter
Old Latin -ād
Latin -ā
Latin ultrābor.
English ultra
From Latin ultra.
Meanings
Extreme; far beyond the norm; fanatical; uncompromising.
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-
Latin ūls
Proto-Indo-European *-teros?
Latin -ter
Old Latin -ād
Latin -ā
Latin ultrābor.
English ultra
From Latin ultra.
Meanings
A political extremist, in particular
Five militants were nabbed while four ultras of Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI) gave themselves up. 2005 December 29, “Foreign ultra killed, three injured in J&K”, in The Times of India, retrieved 21 Apr 2009:
A political extremist, in particular: ▸ An ultraleftist.
A political extremist, in particular: ▸ An ultranationalist.
(France, historical) A political extremist, in particular: ▸ An ultraroyalist.
Her soirées were among the most agreeable at Paris—she united all the rank and talent to be found in the ultra party, for she professed to be quite a female Mæcenas; […] 1828, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter XVI, in Pelham; or, The Adventures of a Gentleman. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 114:
"At any rate that is what he explained to me," I said hastily while the lawyer rubbed his long ultra's nose and sighed. 1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 37:
An especially devoted football fan, typically organized and participating in choreographies (including pyrotechnics), often of outwardly intimidating demeanour, but distinguished from a violent hooligan (although overlap between both subcultures is possible)
Although the intention initially was to distribute tickets and arrange travel to away matches, ultras quickly became actively organised and developed an overtly passionate cultural and political identity inside each curva 2015, Jamie Cleland, A Sociology of Football in a Global Context, Routledge, →ISBN, page 30:
If a member of an official football club can be said to be a citizen of the football world, an ultra has to be considered as a militant. 2013, Richard Guilianotti, Football, Violence and Social Identity, Routledge, →ISBN, page 77:
A similar view is expressed by a Turin supporter in Segre's study, but in this case it is more specifically addressed to how powerful teams, such as Juventus, get preferential treatment in reports on the negative aspects of the ultras world. 2012, ALINA BERNSTEIN, Neil Blain, Sport, Media, Culture: Global and Local Dimensions, Routledge, →ISBN, page 183:
An ultramarathon.
I've done more than forty marathons and ultras and have won a handful of small boutiquey races in mountainous, out-of-the-way places: the foothills of the Sierra Nevada; Mount Mitchell, North Carolina; Bozeman, Montana; and, on the third day of a 100-mile stage race, the Mount Everest Challenge Marathon in the Himalayas. 2008, Rachel Toor, Personal Record: A Love Affair with Running, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, →ISBN, page 69:
An ultra-prominent peak.
Blanca Peak is one of just three ultra-prominence peaks, or “ultras,” in the state and the highpoint of the Sierra Blanca Range, a massif that includes ranked 14ers Ellingwood Point, Little Bear Peak, and Mount Lindsey. 2008, Susan Joy Paul, Climbing Colorado's Mountains, Guilford, CT: Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 141:
(capitalized, usually) Code name used by British codebreakers during World War 2 for decrypted information gained from the enemy.