Kuru disease

noun

A rare, fatal prion disease of the Fore people of Papua New Guinea, causing progressive neurological decline and historically transmitted through mortuary endocannibalism.

Originfor kúru →
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Meanings

nounKuru disease (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA rare, fatal prion disease of the Fore people of Papua New Guinea, causing progressive neurological decline and historically transmitted through mortuary endocannibalism.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
kuru

Origin

  1. forkúru
  2. EnglishKuru disease

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”).

More words from for

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Kuru disease. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kuru%20disease

MLA

“Kuru disease.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kuru%20disease. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Kuru disease,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kuru%20disease.

Source: Kuru disease on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.