Chapter 105

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

||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.

Cu"ri*a*lism (kū"r&ibreve;*&adot;*l&ibreve;?z'm), n. The view or doctrine of the ultramontane party in the Latin Church. Gladstone.

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

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 ultramontane party in the Latin Church.

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

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

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.

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

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

Cu`ri*o*log"ic (-?-l?j"?k), a. [Gr. kyriologiko`s speaking literally (applied to curiologic hieroglyphics); ky`rios authoritative, proper + lo`gos 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.

Cu`ri*os"i*ty (kū`r&ibreve;*&obreve;s"&ibreve;*t&ybreve;), n.; pl. Curiosities (- t&ibreve;z). [OE. curiouste, curiosite, OF. curiosetÚ, curiositÚ, F. curiositÚ, fr. L. curiositas, fr. curiosus. See Curious, 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.

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

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? Beau. & Fl.

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 pity a gentleman so very curious after things that were elegant and beautiful 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. Macaulay.

Many a quaint and curious volume 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.

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

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 (kűrl), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Curled (kűrld); p. pr. & vb. n. Curling.] [Akin to D. krullen, Dan. kr÷lle, 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 curledMegŠra. 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, v. i. 1. To contract or bend into curls 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.

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

Curl (kűrl), n. [Akin to D. krul, Dan. kr÷lle. 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 (kűrld), a. Having curls; curly; sinuous; wavy; as, curled maple (maple having fibers which take a sinuous course).

Curled hair (Com.), the hair of the manes and tails of horses, prepared for upholstery purposes. McElrath.

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

Curl"er (-&etilde;r), n. 1. One who, or that which, curls.

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

Cur"lew (kűr"lū), n. [F. courlieu, corlieu, courlis; perh. of imitative origin, but cf. OF. corlieus courier; L. currere to run + levis light.] (Zo÷l.) A wading bird of the genus Numenius, remarkable for its long, slender, curved bill.

&fist; 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 (Zo÷l.) the whimbrel or lesser curlew. -- Curlew sandpiper (Zo÷l.), a sandpiper (Tringa ferruginea, or subarquata), common in Europe, rare in America, resembling a curlew in having a long, curved bill. See Illustation in Appendix.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

The owlets hoot, the owlets curr. Wordsworth.

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 (Zo÷l.), the larva of an insect that bores into the pith and kills currant bushes; specif., the larvae of a small clearwing moth (Ăgeria tipuliformis) and a longicorn beetle (Psenocerus supernotatus). -- Currant worm (Zo÷l.), 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.

Cur"ren*cy (k?r"r?n-c?), n.; pl. Currencies (-s&?;z). [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 stream; 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Cur*ric"u*lum (k?r-r?k"?-l?m), n.; pl. E. Curriculums (-l&?;mz), 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.

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

Cur"ried (-r&?;d), p. a. [See Curry, v. t., and Curry, n.]

1. Dressed by currying; cleaned; prepared.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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 currying a horse.

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

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, 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, 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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Cursive hand,a running handwriting.

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.

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.

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

With a cursorary eye o'erglanced the articles. Shak.

||Cur*so"res (k?r-s?"rEz), n. pl. [L. cursor, pl. cursores, a runner.] (Zo÷l.) (a) An order of running birds including the ostrich, emu, and allies; the RatitaŠ. (b) A group of running spiders; the wolf spiders.

Cur*so"ri*al (k?r-s?"r?-al), a. (Zo÷l.) (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.

Cur"so*ri*ly (k?r"s?-r?-l?), adv. In a running or hasty manner; carelessly.

Cur"so*ri*ness, n. The quality of being cursory; superficial performance; as, cursoriness of view.

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 (k?rst), imp. & p. p. of Curse.

Curst, a. [SeeCurse.] Froward; malignant; mischievous; malicious; snarling. [Obs.]

Though his mind Be ne'er so curst, his tonque is kind. Crashaw.

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

Curst"ness (kűrst"n&ebreve;s), n. Peevishness; malignity; frowardness; crabbedness; surliness. [Obs.] Shak.

Curt (kŭrt), a. [L. curtus; cf. Skr. kart to cut. Cf. Curtail.] Characterized by excessive brevity; short; rudely concise; as, curt limits; a curt answer.

The curt, yet comprehensive reply. W. Irving.

Cur*tail" (kŭr*tāl"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Curtailed (- tāld"); p. pr. & vb. n. Curtailing.] [See Curtal.] To cut off the end or tail, or any part, of; to shorten; to abridge; to diminish; to reduce.

I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion. Shak.

Our incomes have been curtailed; his salary has been doubled. Macaulay.

Cur"tail (k?r"t?l), n. The scroll termination of any architectural member, as of a step, etc.

Cur"tail dog` (d&obreve;g`; 115). A dog with a docked tail; formerly, the dog of a person not qualified to course, which, by the forest laws, must have its tail cut short, partly as a mark, and partly from a notion that the tail is necessary to a dog in running; hence, a dog not fit for sporting.

Hope is a curtail dog in some affairs. Shak.

Cur*tail"er (kŭr*tāl"&etilde;r), n. One who curtails.

Cur*tail"ment (k?r-t?l"ment), n. The act or result of curtailing or cutting off. Bancroft.

Cur"tain (k?r"t?n; 48), n. [OE. cortin, curtin,fr. OF. cortine, curtine, F. courtine, LL. cortina, curtian (in senses 1 and 2), also, small court, small inclosure surrounded by walls, from cortis court. See Court.]