Etymology

kuru

K5U1R1U1

Today it means: A chronic, progressive, fatal central nervous system disease found mainly among the Fore and neighboring peoples of New Guinea, caused by a prion that probably resembles the scrapie agent of sheep, transmissible to nonhuman primates, and believed to be transmitted by ritual cannibalism. Full definition →

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kuru · noun1

  1. for · borrowed fromkúru
  2. English todaykuru

From Fore kúru (literally “trembling, shivering”). Perhaps eventually from Proto-Gorokan *kút(V) (“dangling, shaking”) if cognate with the reduplicated element of Yagaria gúli gúli hu- (“be loose, rattle”).

Kuru · proper noun2

  1. Sanskrit · borrowed fromकुरु
  2. English todayKuru

Borrowed from Sanskrit कुरु (kuru).

Words from the same roots

forkúru all →

Kuru disease

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.