Etymology

curious

cu·ri·ous
C3U1R1I1O1U1S1

Today it means: Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying. Full definition →

Middle English curious ← Old French curius ← Latin cūriōsus
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curious · adjective1

  1. Latin · derived fromcūriōsus
  2. Old French · derived fromcurius
  3. Middle English · inherited fromcurious
  4. English todaycurious

From Middle English curious, from Old French curius, from Latin cūriōsus. The English word is cognate with Italian curioso, Occitan curios, Portuguese curioso, and Spanish curioso. Displaced native Old English firwitġeorn.

curious · adjective2

  1. Old Frenchéscuerie
  2. FrenchCurie
  3. EnglishCurie
  4. Englishcuri(um)
  5. Proto-Indo-European*h₃ed-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*h₃édosder.?
  7. English todaycurious

From curi(um) + -ous.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.