Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 + 1828)

Page 357

Curate

Cu"rate (k?"r?t), n. [LL. curatus, prop., one who is charged with the care (L. cura) of souls. See Cure, n., and cf. Cur] One who has the cure souls; originally, any clergyman, but now usually limited to one who assist a rector or vicar Hook.

All this the good old man performed alone, He spared no pains, for curate he had none. Dryden.

Curateship

Cu"rate*ship, n. A curacy.

Curation

Cu*ra"tion (k?-r?"sh?n), n. [Cf. OF.curacion.] Cure; healing. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Curative

Cur"a*tive (k?r"?-t?v), a. [Cf. F.curatif. See Cure, v. t.] Relating to, or employed in, the cure of diseases; tending to cure. Arbuthnot.

Curator

Cu*ra"tor (k?-r?"t?r). n. [L., fr. curare to take care of, fr. cura care.]

1. One who has the care and superintendence of anything, as of a museum; a custodian; a keeper.

2. One appointed to act as guardian of the estate of a person not legally competent to manage it, or of an absentee; a trustee; a guardian.

Curatorship

Cu*ra"tor*ship, n. The office of a curator.

Curatrix

Cu*ra"trix (-tr?ks), n. [L.]

1. A woman who cures.

2. A woman who is a guardian or custodian. Burrill.

Curb

Curb (k?rb), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Curbed (k?rbd); p. pr. & vb. n. Curbing.] [F. courber to bend, curve, L.curvare, fr. curvus bent, curved; cf. Gr. curved. Cf. Curve.]

1. To bend or curve [Obs.]

Crooked and curbed lines. Holland.

2. To guide and manage, or restrain, as with a curb; to bend to one's will; to subject; to subdue; to restrain; to confine; to keep in check.

Part wield their arms, part curb the foaming steed. Milton.

Where pinching want must curbthy warm desires. Prior.

3. To furnish wich a curb, as a well; also, to restrain by a curb, as a bank of earth.

Curb

Curb, v. i. To bend; to crouch; to cringe. [Obs.]

Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg, Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good. Shak.

Curb

Curb, n.

1. That which curbs, restrains, or subdues; a check or hindbrance; esp., a chain or strap attached to the upper part of the branches of a bit, and capable of being drawn tightly against the lower jaw of the horse.

He that before ran in the pastures wild Felt the stiff curb control his angry jaws. Drayton.

By these men, religion,that should be The curb, is made the spur of tyranny. Denham.

2. (Arch.) An assemblage of three or more pieces of timber, or a metal member, forming a frame around an opening, and serving to maintain the integrity of that opening; also, a ring of stone serving a similar purpose, as at the eye of a dome.

3. A frame or wall round the mouth of a well; also, a frame within a well to prevent the earth caving in.

4. A curbstone.

5. (Far.) A swelling on the back part of the hind leg of a horse, just behind the lowest part of the hock joint, generally causing lameness. James Law. Curb bit, a stiff bit having branches by which a leverage is obtained upon the jaws of horse. Knight. -- Curb pins (Horology), the pins on the regulator which restrain the hairspring. -- Curb plate (Arch.), a plate serving the purpose of a curb. -- Deck curb. See under Deck.

Curbless

Curb"less, a. Having no curb or restraint.

Curb roof

Curb" roof` (r??f`). A roof having a double slope, or composed, on each side, of two parts which have unequal inclination; a gambrel roof.

Curbstone

Curb"stone` (k?rb"st?n`), n. A stone et along a margin as a and protection, as along the edge of a sidewalk next the roadway; an edge stone. Curbstone broker.See under Broker.

Curch

Curch (k??rch), n. See Courche.

Curculio

Cur*cu"li*o (k?r-r?"l?-?), n.; pl. Curculios (-z). [L., a grain weevil.] (Zoöl.) One of a large group of beetles (Rhynchophora) of many genera; -- called also weevils, snout beetles, billbeetles, and billbugs. Many of the species are very destructive, as the plum curculio, the corn, grain, and rice weevils, etc.

Curculionidous

Cur`cu*li*on"i*dous (k?r`-k?-l?-?n"?-d?s), a. (Zoöl.) Pertaining to the Curculionideæ, or weevil tribe.

Curcuma

Cur"cu*ma (k?r"k?-m?), n. [Cf. F., It., & Sp. curcuma; all fr. Ar. kurkum. Cf. Turmeric.] (Bot.) A genus of plants of the order Scitamineæ, including the turmeric plant (Curcuma longa). Curcuma paper. (Chem.) See Turmeric paper, under Turmeric.

Curcumin

Cur"cu*min (-m?n), n. (Chem.) The coloring principle of turmeric, or curcuma root, extracted as an orange yellow crystalline substance, C14H14O4, with a green fluorescence. &hand; It possesses acid properties and with alkalies forms brownish salts. This change in color from yellow to brown is the characteristic reaction of tumeric paper. See Turmeric paper, under Turmeric.

Curd

Curd (k?rd), n. [Of Celtic origin; cf. Gael. gruth, Ir, gruth, cruth, curd, cruthaim I milk.] [Sometimes written crud.]

1. The coagulated or thickened part of milk, as distingushed from the whey, or watery part. It is eaten as food, especially when made into cheese.

Curds and cream, the flower of country fare. Dryden.

2. The coagulated part of any liquid.

3. The edible flower head of certain brassicaceous plants, as the broccoli and cauliflower.

Broccoli should be cut while the curd, as the flowering mass is termed, is entire. R. Thompson.

Cauliflowers should be cut for use while the head, or curd, is still close and compact. F. Burr.

Curd

Curd (k?rd), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Curded;p. pr. & vb. n. Curding.] To cause to coagulate or thicken; to cause to congeal; to curdle.

Does it curd thy blood To say I am thy mother? Shak.

Curd

Curd, v. i. To become coagulated or thickened; to separate into curds and whey Shak.

Curdiness

Curd"i*ness (-?-n?s), n. The state of being curdy.

Curdle

Cur"dle (k?r"d'l), v. i. [From Curd.] [Sometimes written crudle and cruddle.]

1. To change into curd; to coagulate; as, rennet causes milk to curdle. Thomson.

2. To thicken; to congeal.

Then Mary could feel her heart's blood curdle cold. Southey.

Curdle

Cur"dle, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Curdled (-d'ld); p.pr. & vb. n. Curdling (-dl?ng).]

1. To change into curd; to cause to coagulate. To curdle whites of eggs" Boyle.

2. To congeal or thicken.

My chill blood is curdled in my veins. Dryden.

Curdless

Curd"less (k?rd"l?s), a. Destitute of curd.

Curdy

Curd"y (k?rd"?), a. Like curd; full of curd; coagulated. A curdy mass." Arbuthnot.

Cure

Cure> (kr), n. [OF, cure care, F., also, cure, healing, cure of souls, L. cura care, medical attendance, cure; perh. akin to cavere to pay heed, E. cution. Cure is not related to care.]

1. Care, heed, or attention. [Obs.]

Of study took he most cure and most heed. Chaucer.

Vicarages of greatcure, but small value. Fuller.

2. Spiritual charge; care of soul; the office of a parish priest or of a curate; hence, that which is committed to the charge of a parish priest or of a curate; a curacy; as, to resign a cure; to obtain a cure.

The appropriator was the incumbent parson, and had the cure of the souls of the parishioners. Spelman.

3. Medical or hygienic care; remedial treatment of disease; a method of medical treatment; as, to use the water cure.

4. Act of healing or state of being healed; restoration to health from disease, or to soundness after injury.

Past hope! pastcure! past help. Shak.

I do cures to-day and to-morrow. Luke xii. 32.

5. Means of the removal of disease or evil; that which heals; a remedy; a restorative.

Cold, hunger, prisons, ills without a cure. Dryden.

The proper cure of such prejudices. Bp. Hurd.

Cure

Cure, v. t. [imp.& p.p. Cured (k?rd); p. pr. & vb. n. Curing.] [OF. curer to take care, to heal, F., only, to cleanse, L. curare to take care, to heal, fr. cura. See Cure,.]

1. To heal; to restore to health, soundness, or sanity; to make well; -- said of a patient.

The child was cured from that very hour. Matt. xvii. 18.

2. To subdue or remove by remedial means; to remedy; to remove; to heal; -- said of a malady.

To cure this deadly grief. Shak.

Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power . . . to cure diseases. Luke ix. 1.

3. To set free from (something injurious or blameworthy), as from a bad habit.

I never knew any man cured of inattention. Swift.

4. To prepare for preservation or permanent keeping; to preserve, as by drying, salting, etc.; as, to cure beef or fish; to cure hay.

Cure

Cure, v. i.

1. To pay heed; to care; to give attention. [Obs.]

2. To restore health; to effect a cure.

Whose smile and frown, like to Achilles' spear, Is able with the change to kill and cure. Shak.

3. To become healed.

One desperate grief cures with another's languish. Shak.

Cur

Cu`r" (k?`r?"), n. [F., fr. LL. curatus. See Curate.] A curate; a pardon.

Cureall

Cure"*all` (k?r"?l`), n. A remedy for all diseases, o for all ills; a panacea.

Cureless

Cure"less, a. Incapable of cure; incurable.

With patience undergo A cureless ill, since fate will have it so. Dryden.

Curer

Cur"er (-?r), n.

1. One who cures; a healer; a physician.

2. One who prepares beef, fish, etc., for preservation by drying, salting, smoking, etc.

Curette

Cu*rette" (k?-r?t"), n.[F., fr. curer to cleanse.] (Med.) A scoop or ring with either a blunt or a cutting edge, for removing substances from the walls of a cavity, as from the eye, ear, or womb.

Curfew

Cur"few (k?r"f?), n. [OE. courfew, curfu, fr. OF. cuevrefu, covrefeu, F. couvre-feu; covrir to cover + feu fire, fr. L. focus fireplace, hearth. See Cover, and Focus.]

1. The ringing of an evening bell, originally a signal to the inhabitants to cover fires, extinguish lights, and retire to rest, -- instituted by William the Conqueror; also, the bell itself.

He begins at curfew, and walks till the first cock. Shak.

The village curfew, as it tolled profound. Campbell.

2. A utensil for covering the fire. [Obs.]

For pans, pots, curfews, counters and the like. Bacon.

Curia

Cu"ri*a (k?"r?-?), n.; pl. Curle (-). [L.]

1. (Rom. Antiq.) (a) One of the thirty parts into which the Roman people were divided by Romulus. (b) The place of assembly of one of these divisions. (c) The place where the meetings of the senate were held; the senate house.

2. (Middle Ages) The court of a sovereign or of a feudal lord; also; his residence or his household. Burrill.

3. (Law) Any court of justice.

4. The Roman See in its temporal aspects, including all the machinery of administration; -- called also curia Romana.

Curialism

Cu"ri*a*lism (k?"r?-?-l?z'm), n. The wiew or doctrins of the ultramontane party in the Latin Church. Gladstone.

Curialist

Cu"ri*a*list (k?"r?-?-l?st), n. One who belongs to the ultramontane party in the Latin Church. Shipley.

Curialistic

Cu`ri*a*lis"tic (-l?s"t?k), a. [L.curialis belonging to the imperial court, fr. curia, LL., also, counselors and retinue of a king.]

1. Pertaining to a court.

2. Relating or belonging to the ultramonate party in the Latin Church.

Curiality

Cu`ri*al"i*ty (-?l"?-t?), n. [Cf. LL. curialitas courtesy, fr. curialis.] The privileges, prerogatives, or retinue of a court. [Obs.] Bacon.

Curiet

Cu"ri*et (k?"r?-?t), n. A cuirass. [Obs.] Spenser.

Curing

Cur"ing (k?r"?ng), p. a. & vb. n. of Cure. Curing house, a building in which anything is cured; especially, in the West Indies, a building in which sugar is drained and dried.

Curio

Cu"ri*o (k?"r?-?), n.; pl.Curios (-z). [Abbreviation of curiosity.] Any curiosity or article of virtu.<-- correct spelling! -->

The busy world, which does not hunt poets as collectors hunt for curios. F. Harrison.

Curiologic

Cu`ri*o*log"ic (-?-l?j"?k), a. [Gr. speaking literally (applied to curiologic hieroglyphics); authoritative, proper + word, thought. CF.Cyriologic.] Pertaining to a rude kind of hieroglyphics, in which a thing is represented by its picture instead of by a symbol.

Curiosity

Cu`ri*os"i*ty (k?`r?-?s"?-t?), n.; pl. Curiosities (-tz). [OE. curiouste, curiosite, OF. curioseté, curiosité, F. curiosit, fr. L. curiositas, fr. curiosus. See Currious, and cf. Curio.]

1. The state or quality or being curious; nicety; accuracy; exactness; elaboration. [Obs.] Bacon.

When thou wast in thy gilt and thy perfume, they mocked thee for too much curiosity. Shak.

A screen accurately cut in tapiary work . . . with great curiosity. Evelin.

2. Disposition to inquire, investigate, or seek after knowledge; a desire to gratify the mind with new information or objects of interest; inquisitiveness. Milton.

3. That which is curious, or fitted to excite or reward attention.

We took a ramble together to see the curiosities of this great town. Addison.

There hath been practiced also a curiosity, to set a tree upon the north side of a wall, and, at a little hieght, to draw it through the wall, etc. Bacon.

Curioso

Cu`ri*o"so (k??`r?-?"z? ∨ k?`r?-?"s?), n.; pl. Curiosos (-zz or -sz). [It. See Curious.] A virtuoso.

Curious

Cu"ri*ous (k?"r?-?s), a. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]

1. Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [Obs.]

Little curious in her clothes. Fuller.

How shall we, If he be curious, work upon his faith? Bean &

2. Exhibiting care or nicety; artfully constructed; elaborate; wrought with elegance or skill.

To devise curious works. Ex. xxxv. 32

His body couched in a curious bed. Shak.

3. Careful or anxious to learn; eager for knowledge; given to research or inquiry; habitually inquisitive; prying; -- sometimes with after or of.

It is a piy a gentleman so very curious after things that were elegant and beatiful should not have been as curious as to their origin, their uses, and their natural history. Woodward.

4. Exciting attention or inquiry; awakening surprise; inviting and rewarding inquisitiveness; not simple or plain; strange; rare. Acurious tale" Shak.

A multitude of curious analogies. Mocaulay.

Many a quaint and curiousvolume of forgotten lore. E. A. Poe.

Abstruse investigations in recondite branches of learning or sciense often bring to light curious results. C. J. Smith.

Curious arts, magic. [Obs.]

Many . . . which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them. Acts xix. 19.

Syn. -- Inquisitive; prying. See Inquisitive.

Curiously

Cu"ri*ous*ly, adv. In a curious manner.

Curiousness

Cu"ri*ous*ness, n.

1. Carefulness; painstaking. [Obs.]

My father's care With curiousness and cost did train me up. Massinger.

2. The state of being curious; exactness of workmanship; ingenuity of contrivance.

3. Inquisitiveness; curiosity.

Curl

Curl (k?rl), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Curled (k?rld); p. pr. & vb. n. Curling.] [Akin to D. krullen, Dan. krlle, dial. Sw. krulla to curl, crisp; possibly akin to E. crook. Cf. Curl, n., Cruller.]

1. To twist or form into ringlets; to crisp, as the hair.

But curl their locks with bodkins and with braid. Cascoigne.

2. To twist or make onto coils, as a serpent's body.

Of his tortuous train, Curled many a wanton wreath in sight of Eve. Milton.

3. To deck with, or as with, curls; to ornament.

Thicker than the snaky locks That curledMegæra. Milton.

Curling with metaphors a plain intention. Herbert.

4. To raise in waves or undulations; to ripple.

Seas would be pools without the brushing air To curl the waves. Dryden.

5. (Hat Making) To shape (the brim) into a curve.

Curl

Curl, v. i.

1. To contract or bend into curis or ringlets, as hair; to grow in curls or spirals, as a vine; to be crinkled or contorted; to have a curly appearance; as, leaves lie curled on the ground.

Thou seest it [hair] will not curl by nature. Shak.

2. To move in curves, spirals, or undulations; to contract in curving outlines; to bend in a curved form; to make a curl or curls. Cirling billows." Dryden.

Then round her slender waist he curled. Dryden.

Curling smokes from village tops are seen. Pope.

Gayly curl the waves before each dashing prow. Byron.

He smiled a king of sickly smile, and curled up on the floor. Bret Harte.

<-- p>. 358 -->

3. To play at the game called curling. [Scot.]

Curl

Curl (k?rl), n. [Akin to D. krul, Dan. krlle. See Curl, v. ]

1. A ringlet, especially of hair; anything of a spiral or winding form.

Under a coronet, his flowing hair In curls on either cheek played. Milton.

2. An undulating or waving line or streak in any substance, as wood, glass, etc.; flexure; sinuosity.

If the glass of the prisms . . . be without those numberless waves or curls which usually arise from the sand holes. Sir I. Newton.

3. A disease in potatoes, in which the leaves, at their first appearance, seem curled and shrunken. Blue curls. (Bot.) See under Blue.

Curled

Curled (l?rld), a. Having curls; curly; sinuous; wavy; as, curled maple (maple having fibers which take a sinnuous course). Curled hair (Com.), the hair of the manes and tails of horses, prepared for upholstery purposes. McElrath.

Curledness

Curl"ed*ness, n. State of being curled; curliness.

Curler

Curl"er (-?r), n.

1. One who, or that which, curls.

2. A player at the game called curling. Burns.

Curlew

Cur"lew (k?r"l?), n. [F. courlieu, corlieu, courlis; perh. of imitative origin, but cf. OF. corlieus courier; L. currere to run + levis light.] (Zoöl.) A wading bird of the genus Numenius, remarkable for its long, slender, curved bill. &hand; The common European curlew is N. arquatus. The long-billed (N. longirostris), the Hudsonian (N. Hudsonicus), and the Eskimo curlew (N. borealis, are American species. The name is said to imitate the note of the European species. Curlew Jack (Zoöl.) the whimbrel or lesser curlew. -- Curlew sandpiper (Zoöl.), a sandpiper (Tringa ferruginea, ∨ subarquata), common in Europe, rare in America, resembling a curlew in having a long, curved bill. See Illustation in Appendix.

Curliness

Curl"i*ness (k?rl"?-n?s), n. State of being curly.

Curling

Curl"ing, n.

1. The act or state of that which curls; as, the curling of smoke when it rises; the curling of a ringlet; also, the act or process of one who curls something, as hair, or the brim of hats.

2. A scottish game in which heavy weights of stone or iron are propelled by hand over the ice towards a mark.

Curling . . . is an amusement of the winter, and played on the ice, by sliding from one mark to another great stones of 40 to 70 pounds weight, of a hemispherical form, with an iron or wooden handle at top. The object of the player is to lay his stone as near to the mark as possible, to guard that of his partner, which has been well laid before, or to strike off that of his antagonist. Pennant (Tour in Scotland. 1772).

Curling irons, Curling tong, an instrument for curling the hair; -- commonly heated when used.

Curlingly

Curl"ing*ly, adv. With a curl, or curls.

Curly

Curl"y (k?rl"?), a. Curling or tending to curl; having curls; full of ripples; crinkled.

Curlycue

Curl"y*cue (k?rl"?-k?), n. [Cf. F. caracole.] Some thing curled or spiral,, as a flourish made with a pen on paper, or with skates on the ice; a trick; a frolicsome caper. [Sometimes written carlicue.] [ Colloq. U.S.] To cut a curlycue, to make a flourish; to cut a caper.

I gave a flourishing about the room and cut a curlycue with my right foot. McClintock.

Curmudgeon

Cur*mudg"eon (k?r-m?j"?n), n. [OE. cornmudgin, where -mudgin is prob. from OF. muchier, mucier, F. musser to hide; of uncertain origin; cf. OE. muchares skulking thieves, E. miche, micher.] An avaricious, grasping fellow; a miser; a niggard; a churl.

A gray-headed curmudgeon of a negro. W. Irving.

Curmudgeonly

Cur*mudg"eon*ly, a. Like a curmudgeon; niggardly; churlish; as, a curmudgeonly fellow.

Curmurring

Cur*mur"ring (k?r-m?r"r?ng), n. Murmuring; grumbling; -- sometimes applied to the rumbling produced by a slight attack of the gripes. [Scot.] Burns.

Curr

Curr (k?r), v. i. [Prob. imitative.] To coo. [Scot.]

The owlets hoot, the owlets curr. Wordsworth.

Currant

Cur"rant (k?r"rant), n. [F. corinthe (raisins de Corinthe raisins of Corinth) currant (in sense 1), from the city of Corinth in Greece, whence, probably, the small dried grape (1) was first imported, the Ribes fruit (2) receiving the name from its resemblance to that grape.]

1. A small kind of seedless raisin, imported from the Levant, chiefly from Zante and Cephalonia; -- used in cookery.

2. The acid fruit or berry of the Ribes rubrum or common red currant, or of its variety, the white currant.

3. (Bot.) A shrub or bush of several species of the genus Ribes (a genus also including the gooseberry); esp., the Ribes rubrum. Black currant,a shrub or bush (Ribes nigrum and R. floridum) and its black, strong-flavored, tonic fruit. -- Cherry currant, a variety of the red currant, having a strong, symmetrical bush and a very large berry. -- Currant borer (Zoöl.), the larva of an insect that bores into the pith and kills currant bushes; specif., the larvae of a small clearwing moth (ægeria tipuliformis) and a longicorn beetle (Psenocerus supernotatus). -- Currant worm (Zoöl.), an insect larva which eats the leaves or fruit of the currant. The most injurious are the currant sawfly (Nematus ventricosus), introduced from Europe, and the spanworm (Eufitchia ribearia). The fruit worms are the larva of a fly (Epochra Canadensis), and a spanworm (Eupithecia). -- Flowering currant, Missouri currant, a species of Ribes (R. aureum), having showy yellow flowers.

Currency

Cur"ren*cy (k?r"r?n-c?), n.; pl. Currencies (-sz). [Cf. LL. currentia a current, fr. L. currens, p. pr. of currere to run. See Current.]

1. A continued or uninterrupted course or flow like that of a sream; as, the currency of time. [Obs.] Ayliffe.

2. The state or quality of being current; general acceptance or reception; a passing from person to person, or from hand to hand; circulation; as, a report has had a long or general currency; the currency of bank notes.

3. That which is in circulation, or is given and taken as having or representing value; as, the currency of a country; a specie currency; esp., government or bank notes circulating as a substitute for metallic money.

4. Fluency; readiness of utterance. [Obs.]

5. Current value; general estimation; the rate at which anything is generally valued.

He . . . takes greatness of kingdoms according to their bulk and currency, and not after intrinsic value. Bacon.

The bare name of Englishman . . . too often gave a transient currency to the worthless and ungrateful. W. Irving.

Current

Cur"rent (k?r"rent), a. [OE. currant, OF. curant, corant, p. pr. of curre, corre, F. courre, courir, to run, from L. currere; perh. akin to E. horse. Cf. Course, Concur, Courant, Coranto.]

1. Running or moving rapidly. [Archaic]

Like the current fire, that renneth Upon a cord. Gower.

To chase a creature that was current then In these wild woods, the hart with golden horns. Tennyson.

2. Now passing, as time; as, the current month.

3. Passing from person to person, or from hand to hand; circulating through the community; generally received; common; as, a current coin; a current report; current history.

That there was current money in Abraham's time is past doubt. Arbuthnot.

Your fire-new stamp of honor is scarce current. Shak.

His current value, which is less or more as men have occasion for him. Grew.

4. Commonly estimated or acknowledged.

5. Fitted for general acceptance or circulation; authentic; passable.

O Buckingham, now do I play the touch To try if thou be current gold indeed. Shak.

Account current. See under Account. -- Current money, lawful money. Abbott.

Current

Cur"rent, n. [Cf. F. courant. See Current, a. ]

1. A flowing or passing; onward motion. Hence: A body of fluid moving continuously in a certain direction; a stream; esp., the swiftest part of it; as, a current of water or of air; that which resembles a stream in motion; as, a current of electricity.

Two such silver currents, when they join, Do glorify the banks that bound them in. Shak.

The surface of the ocean is furrowed by currents, whose direction . . . the navigator should know. Nichol.

2. General course; ordinary procedure; progressive and connected movement; as, the current of time, of events, of opinion, etc. Current meter, an instrument for measuring the velocity, force, etc., of currents. -- Current mill, a mill driven by a current wheel. -- Current wheel, a wheel dipping into the water and driven by the current of a stream or by the ebb and flow of the tide. Syn. -- Stream; course. See Stream.

Currently

Cur"rent*ly, adv. In a current manner; generally; commonly; as, it is currently believed.

Currentness

Cur"rent*ness, n.

1. The quality of being current; currency; circulation; general reception.

2. Easiness of pronunciation; fluency. [Obs.]

When currentness [combineth] with staidness, how can the language . . . sound other than most full of sweetness? Camden.

Curricle

Cur"ri*cle (k?r"r?-k'l), n. [L.curriculum a running, a race course, fr. currere to run. See Current, and cf. Curriculum.]

1. A small or short course.

Upon a curricle in this world depends a long course of the next. Sir T. Browne.

2. A two-wheeled chaise drawn by two horses abreast.

Curriculum

Cur*ric"u*lum (k?r-r?k"?-l?m), n.; pl. E. Curriculums (-lmz), L. Curricula (-l). [L. See Curricle.]

1. A race course; a place for running.

2. A course; particularly, a specified fixed course of study, as in a university.

Currie

Cur"rie (k?r"r?), n. & v. See 2d & 3d Curry.

Curried

Cur"ried (-rd), p.a. [See Curry, v. t., and Curry, n.]

1. Dressed by currying; cleaned; prepared.

2. Prepared with curry; as, curried rice, fowl, etc.

Currier

Cur"ri*er (k?"r?-?r), n. [From 1st Curry.] One who curries and dresses leather, after it is tanned.

Currish

Cur"rish (k?r"r?sh), a. [From Cur.] Having the qualities, or exhibiting the characteristics, of a cur; snarling; quarrelsome; snappish; churlish; hence, also malicious; malignant; brutal.

Thy currish spirit Governed a wolf. Shak.

Some currish plot, -- some trick. Lockhart.

-- Cur"rish*ly, adv. -- Cur"rish*ness, n.

Curry

Cur"ry (k?r"r?), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Curried (-r?d); p.pr. & vb. n. Currying.] [OE. curraien, curreien, OF. cunreer, correier, to prepare, arrange, furnish, curry (a horse), F. corroyer to curry (leather) (cf. OF. conrei, conroi, order, arrangement, LL. conredium); cor- (L.com-) + roi, rei, arrangement, order; prob. of German origin, and akin to E. ready. See Ready, Greith, and cf. Corody, Array.]

1. To dress or prepare for use by a process of scraping, cleansing, beating, smoothing, and coloring; -- said of leather.

2. To dress the hair or coat of (a horse, ox, or the like) with a currycomb and brush; to comb, as a horse, in order to make clean.

Your short horse is soon curried. Beau. & FL.

3. To beat or bruise; to drub; -- said of persons.

I have seen him curry a fellow's carcass handsomely. Beau. & FL.

To curry favor, to seek to gain favor by flattery or attentions. See Favor, n.

Curry

Cur"ry, n. [Tamil kari.] [Written also currie.]

1. (Cookery) A kind of sauce much used in India, containing garlic, pepper, ginger, and other strong spices.

2. A stew of fowl, fish, or game, cooked with curry. Curry powder (Cookery), a condiment used for making curry, formed of various materials, including strong spices, as pepper, ginger, garlic, coriander seed, etc.

Curry

Cur"ry (k?r"r?), v. t. To flavor or cook with curry.

Currycomb

Cur"ry*comb` (k?r"r?-k?m`), n. A kind of card or comb having rows of metallic teeth or serrated ridges, used in curryng a horse.

Currycomb

Cur"ry*comb`, v. t. To comb with a currycomb.

Curse

Curse (k?rs), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Cursed (k?rst) or Curst; p. pr. & vb. n. Cursing.] [AS. cursian, corsian, perh. of Scand. origin; cf. Dan. korse to make the sign of the cross, Sw. korsa, fr. Dan. & Sw. kors cross, Icel kross, all these Scand. words coming fr. OF. crois, croiz, fr. L. crux cross. Cf. Cross.]

1. To call upon divine or supernatural power to send injury upon; to imprecate evil upon; to execrate.

Thou shalt not . . . curse the ruler of thy people. Ex. xxii. 28.

Ere sunset I'll make thee curse the deed. Shak.

2. To bring great evil upon; to be the cause of serious harm or unhappiness to; to furnish with that which will be a cause of deep trouble; to afflict or injure grievously; to harass or torment.

On impious realms and barbarous kings impose Thy plagues, and curse 'em with such sons as those. Pope.

To curse by bell, book, and candle. See under Bell.

Curse

Curse, v. i. To utter imprecations or curses; to affirm or deny with imprecations; to swear.

Then began he to curse and to swear. Matt. xxi. 74.

His spirits hear me, And yet I need must curse. Shak.

Curse

Curse, n. [AS. curs. See Curse, v. t.]

1. An invocation of, or prayer for, harm or injury; malediction.

Lady, you know no rules of charity, Which renders good for bad, blessings for curses. Shak.

2. Evil pronounced or invoked upon another, solemnly, or in passion; subjection to, or sentence of, divine condemnation.

The priest shall write these curses in a book. Num. v. 23.

Curses, like chickens, come home to roost. Old Proverb.

3. The cause of great harm, evil, or misfortune; that which brings evil or severe affliction; torment.

The common curse of mankind, folly and ignorance. Shak.

All that I eat, or drink, or shall beget, Is propagated curse. Milton.

The curse of Scotland (Card Playing), the nine of diamonds. -- Not worth a curse. See under Cress. Syn. -- Malediction; imprecation; execration. See Malediction.

Cursed

Curs"ed (k?rs"?d), a. Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.

Let us fly this cursed place. Milton.

This cursed quarrel be no more renewed. Dryden.

Cursedly

Curs"ed*ly, adv. In a cursed manner; miserably; in a manner to be detested; enormously. [Low]

Cursedness

Curs"ed*ness, n.

1. The state of being under a curse or of being doomed to execration or to evil.

2. Wickedness; sin; cursing. Chaucer.

3. Shrewishness. My wife's cursedness." Chaucer.

Curser

Curs"er (k?rs"?r), n. One who curses.

Curship

Cur"ship (k?r"sh?p), n. [Cur +-ship.] The state of being a cur; one who is currish. [Jocose]

How durst he, I say, oppose thy curship! Hudibras.

Cursitating

Cur"si*ta`ting (k?r"s?-t?`t?ng), a. [See Cursitor.] Moving about slightly. [R.] H. Bushnell.

Cursitor

Cur"si*tor (k?r"s?-t?r), n. [LL. cursitor, equiv. to L. cursor, fr. cursare to run hither and thither, fr. currere to run. See Current, and cf. Cursor.]

1. A courier or runner. [Obs.] Cursitors to and fro." Holland.

2. (Eng.Law) An officer in the Court of Chancery, whose business is to make out original writs.

Cursive

Cur"sive (k?r"s?v), a. [LL. cursivus: cf. F. cursif See Cursitor.] Running; flowing. Cursive hand,a running handwriting.

Cursive

Cur"sive, n.

1. A character used in cursive writing.

2. A manuscript, especially of the New Testament, written in small, connected characters or in a running hand; -- opposed to uncial. Shipley.

Cursor

Cur"sor (k?r"s?r), n. [L., a runner. See Cursitor.] Any part of a mathematical instrument that moves or slides backward and forward upon another part.

Cursorary

Cur"so*ra*ry (-s?-r?-r?), a. Cursory; hasty. [Obs.]

With a cursorary eye o'erglanced the articles. Shak.
Cursores
Cur*so"res (k?r-s?"rEz), n. pl. [L. cursor, pl. cursores, a runner.] (Zoöl.) (a) An order of running birds including the ostrich, emu, and allies; the Ratitaæ. (b) A group of running spiders; the wolf spiders.
Cursorial
Cur*so"ri*al (k?r-s?"r?-al), a. (Zoöl.) (a) Adapted to running or walking, and not to prehension; as, the limbs of the horse are cursorial. See Illust. of Aves. (b) Of or pertaining to the Cursores.
Cursorily
Cur"so*ri*ly (k?r"s?-r?-l?), adv. In a running or hasty manner; carelessly.
Cursoriness
Cur"so*ri*ness, n. The quality of being cursory; superficial performance; as, cursoriness of view.
Cursory
Cur"so*ry (k?r"s?-r?), a. [L. cursorius, fr. cursor. See Cursor.]
1. Running about; not stationary. [Obs.]
2. Characterized by haste; hastily or superficially performed; slight; superficial; careless.
Events far too important to be treated in a cursory manner. Hallam.

Curst
Curst (k?rst), imp. & p.p. of Curse.
Curst
Curst, a. [SeeCurse.] Froward; malignant; mischievous; malicious; snarling. [Obs.]
Though his mind Be ne'er so curst, his tonque is kind. Crashaw.

Curstfully
Curst"ful*ly (-f?l-l?), adv. Peevishly; vexatiously; detestably. [Obs.] Curstfully mad." Marston.