curia 
The ( 'HI-IK :is a political ami nut .'I (Jrlltilc Ill'lalilie. 
III, 'III . . . Kor tin- spei ill! relation nf till' f'ni-i'il I" the 
((vitas, n hint is fniiiiil in tin- statement (hut It'.muliis 
gave eai'll I'm nt nil,- ;il|ip|lil,-lil. 
tf. /.'. llrarn, Aryan Household, p. 334. 
(b) The building in which a curia nii't for wor- 
ship or publi" deliberation. (<) The building 
in whicli tin- senate held its deliberation*, (d) 
A title given to tin- senate of any one of the 
Il.-iliaiicities, as distinguished from the Koman 
smnte. 2. In innlii-nil lii/<il H.IP, a court, either 
jinlii-ial, admiiiistr.-itive, or legislative; a court 
of justice. In tln> Norman period nf English history the 
CIII-I'K /,v.'/i.< ;is :in assembly which Mil- king was bound 
to run -n 1 1 n important state mutters, nmt W|IOM- roiisenl 
was m-eessary fur tin- enactment of laws, tin- imposition 
ni extraordinary laves, etc. It consisted noliiinally of the 
trinuits in chief, tmt practically it was iiiurll more limited. 
Originally tin- Curia Itegis anil the Exchequer wen n 
IKISCI! uf "tin- sanii- persons. Kroin the Curia Regis there 
developed later Ihr ordinary Council or I'rivy Coum-il, ami 
the i 'MIII i- of King's I'.i'iii-h and Common Pleas. Also 
Aula ltryia or 7<iv/iif. 
'I'hi' council, as it existed In the Norman period under 
the naiin- nf i'in-iti iv/i'x, . . . exercised judicial, legisla- 
tive, and administrative functions. 
Kneije. Brit., XIX. "(if). 
3. [cup.'] Specifically, in modern use, the court 
of the papal see. 
The collusion, so to call It, between the crown and the 
papacy, as to the observance of the statute of provisors, 
extended also to the other dealings with the Curio. 
Hi nl>l>*. Const. Hist., $ 403. 
Curia advisari VUlt, the court wishes to delilwrate. It 
implies a |>ostpoucnicnt i>f decision after argument, and 
henrr an adjournment or continuance of a cause landing 
ennsiileration of what judgment should be resolved on. 
Abbreviated i-in. inlr. i -nit. Curia claudenda, in early 
Kwt. lau\ a writ requiring the making of a iMHUidary-wall 
or -fence. 
curial (ku'ri-al), a. [= F. Sp. Pg. curial = It. 
curtate, < L. curiiilis, of the curia, ML. of a court, 
< curia, curia, ML. a court : see curia.] 1. Of 
or pertaining to the Roman curia : as, " curial 
festivals," KHCI/C. Brit., XX. 732. 2. Pertain- 
ing or relating to the Papal Curia. 
curialism (ku'ri-al-izm), n. [< curial + -ism.] 
The political system or policy of the Papal Cu- 
ria or court. 
The ancient principles of popular election ami control 
. . . have by the. constant aggressions of Curialism been 
in tile main effaced. 
(Uailsluar, Vaticanism, Harper's Weekly, Supp., XIX. 251. 
curialistic (ku'ri-a-lis'tik), . [As curitil-ism 
+ -isttc.] Pertaining to or of the nature of 
curialism. 
curialityt (ku-ri-al'i-ti), n. [< ML. curiali- 
t(t(t-).i, in sense of 'courtesy,' < curialis, of a 
court: see curial.] The privileges, preroga- 
tives, or retinue of a court. 
The court and curialitif. Bacon, Advice to Villiers. 
curiate (ku'ri-at), a. [< L. furiatus, < curia : 
see curia.] Of or relating to the Roman curia ; 
curial: as, "curiate assemblies," Encyc. Brit., 
XX. 732. 
curiett, Same as curafi. 
Curimatina (ku'ri-ma-ti'na), n. pi. [NL., < 
Ciiriiiiatiix + -ina 2 .] In Gfunther's system of 
classification, a group of Charactmda; having an 
adijiose fin, imperfect dentition, and a short dor- 
sal (in. They are numerous in South America. 
Curimatus (ku-ri-ma'tus), n. [NL. (Cuvier).] 
1403 
The typical genus of Curimatina. C. mirarti is 
an example. 
curing-house (kur'ing-hous), n. A building in 
which anything is cured; specifically, in the 
West Indies, a house wherein sugar is drained 
ami dried. 
curio (ku'ri-6), n. [Appar. short for curiosity.] 
< trigi mill y, an object of virtu or article of bric-a- 
lir.-ic, such as a bronze, a piece of porcelain or 
l;ici|iier-\v;ire, etc.. brought from China or the 
I'iir Kast ; now, any bronze, or piece of old china 
prof bric-a-brac in general, especially such as 
is rave or curious: us. a collection of curios. 
CUriologict, . See 
curiosi, . Plural 
curiosity (ku-ri-os'i ti), .; pi. curioxitii-s (-tiz). 
[Karly mod. K. curiositie, < ME. curiosite, curi- 
.</(,' curiosity, care, < OF. curioscte, curiosite, 
V. fiiriiKiiti- = I'r. curioxitut, i-urio-i-lut = Sp. cu- 
riimiaatt = Pg. 01 riosidade = It. curiogitd, < L. 
rurimita(l-)x, curiosity, < riirinxiix, curious: see 
curious.] If. CareMness; nicety; delicacy; 
fastidiousness; scrupulous care. 
When thoii want in thy tilt and thy perfume, they mocked 
thee fur ti>u much riiri*;t<i. Shale., T. of A., Iv. 3. 
liml nftentillies takl'S flnlll 118 that Which With SO IIIUCll 
I-IH-M.XI'/W we would preserve. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 090. 
2. Accuracy; exactness; nice performance. 
[Rare.] 
Hang 
Cui-i'iuiVi; in mllMe : leave HK.M- enilehetx 
T" men that get their living with a wing. 
Shirley, Hyde 1'ark, Iv. 3. 
The curwuittf of the workmanship of nature. lta]i. 
3f. Curious arrangement; singular or artful 
performance. 
To folowen word by word the curyorite 
Uf Qraunson. 
Chaucer, Complaint of Venus, I. 81. 
There hath been practised ... curwrity, to set a tree 
upon the north side of a wall, and . at a little height, to draw 
It through the wall, &e. Bacon, Nat. HUt. 
4f. Extravagantly minute investigation. 
I intend not to proceed any further in this Mtrio/i> 
then to shew some small suhtillltic that any other hath 
not yet done. Futtenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. dl. 
5. Fancifulness ; extravagance; a curious or 
fanciful subject. 
The exercise of right instructing was chang'd into the 
mriority of impertinent fabling. 
Milton, Prelatical Episcopacy. 
6. The desire to see or learn something that is 
new, strange, or unknown; inquisitiveness. 
Yet not so content, they mounted higher, and l>ecause 
their wordes serued well thereto, they made feete of sixe 
times : but this proceeded more of curiotitie then other- 
wise. i'uttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 56. 
This feeling, according to circumstances, is denominat- 
ed surprise, astonishment, admiration, wonder, and, when 
blended with the intellectual tendencies we have consid- 
ered, it obtains the name of curiosity. 
Sir W. Hamilton, Metaphysics, iii. 
We speak of the monkey as marked by incessant curi- 
arity. That is to say, he makes constant mental excur- 
sions beyond the range of his hereditary habito. 
Pop. Sci. Mo., XXVIII. 333. 
7. Aii object of interest or inquisitiveness; that 
which excites a desire of seeing or deserves to 
be seen, as novel or extraordinary; something 
rare or strange. 
I met with a French Gentleman, who, amongst other 
Curum'fiftf which he pleased to shew me up and down 
Paris, brought me to that Place where the late King was 
slain. //...c. //. Letters, I. i. 18. 
We took a ramble together to see the curwtrities of thin 
great town. Addition, Freeholder. 
= Syn. 7. Phenomenon, marvel, wonder, sight, rarity. 
curiosity-shop (ku-ri-os'i-ti-shop), . A place 
where curiosities are sold or kept. 
curioso (ku-ri-o'so), n. ; pi. curiosi (-si). [It., 
= E. curious, q. v.] A person curious in art; 
a virtuoso. 
Dr. J. Wllklns, warden of Wadham College, the greatest 
curiitgo of his time, invited him and some of the musicians 
to his lodgings, purposely to haw a consort. 
Life of A. Wood, p. 112. 
curious (ku'ri-us), a. [< ME. curious, coriotts, 
< OF. curious, curios, F. curieux = Sp. Pg. It. 
curioso, < L. curiosus, careful, diligent, thought- 
ful, inquisitive, curious, < cura, care, etc. : see 
cure.] If. Careful; nice; accurate; fastidious; 
precise; exacting; minute. 
It was therefore of necessitie that a more ctiriou* and 
particular description should l>ee made of euery manner 
of speech. PuttenAam, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 130. 
Men were not curious what syllables and particles they 
used. Hooker, Eccles. Polity. 
For curiou* I cannot lie with you, 
Signior liaptUta, of whom I hear so well. 
Shak., T. of the S., IT. 4. 
Your courtier is more curious 
To set himself forth richly than his lady. 
Beau, and /'/ . Knight of Malta, iii. 2. 
2. Wrought with or requiring care and art; 
neat ; elaborate ; finished : as, a curious work. 
The curuiux girdle of the ephod. Ex. xxviii. 8. 
'Ilien Koliin HOIM) gave him a mantle of green, 
Hroad arrows, ami I'lu-i'mi* lima IKIW. 
Kobin //i*/ iiuil the inwcr(Child's Ballads, V. 211). 
These curiom locks so aptly twiti'd, 
Whose every hair a soul doth bind. 
Corj>, To A. L. 
3. Exciting curiosity or surprise: awakening 
inquisitive interest ; rare; singular; odd: as, a 
curious fact. 
curl 
I In n- wu a king, an a enrima king, 
An' a kinu' o royal fame. 
/.ii./.w- IIMU ...... /(Child'n l!allil, II. 382). 
Thi'i. .in llnnj in him | liii'ilnm*] very '-iTi'mix, got out 
of better aillb"iili.s nnw lo.-t. (,Vii//. Vt : !.- Ill 
Man luu tin- euriiHi* power of ili-rcivini: himself, when 
he eaimot deceive nlliern. ./. f. I'tarkr, Self Culture, p. 4. 
4. Inquisitive; desirous of seeing or knowing ; 
eager to learn ; addicted to research or inqnin : 
sometimes, in a disparaging sense, prying: a>. 
a man of a curious mind : followed by afti-r, nf, 
in, or about, or an infinitive. 
Adrian . . . was the most curium man that lived, ami 
Hi. most universal inquirer. 
Huron, Advancement of Learning, i. 77. 
There are some who have h.-, n .</, /.,/'* in (be eompai ison 
of Tongues, who believe that the Irish is but a Dialect of 
the aiilient British. llotrell. Letters, II. 65. 
Curunti after things . . . elegant and beautiful. 
Curiotwo/ antiquities. Dryden, Fables. 
Render, if any ctmVm* stay 
To ask my hated name, 
Tell them the grave that hides my clay 
Conceals me from my shame. Wetdey. 
He was very ctirimm to obtain information about Amer- 
ica. /.'. Taylor, l.amls of the Saracen, p. 23. 
Curious artst, magical arts. 
Many of them {the Ephesians] also which used rtm'oti* 
artu I. roii-M their books together, and burned them be- 
fore all men. Acts xlx. 18. 
^SyH. 3. Stranflf, Surprininti, etc. See iroiulerful.t. 
Curiotut, Inquisitive, Pryiittj. Curivu* and iniftiijtitirf may 
lie used in a good or a bail sense, but fm/uMiftrv is more 
often, and pryiiiy is only, found in the latter. Curiou* ex- 
presses only the desire to know ; inifuintioe, the effort t" 
find out by inquiry ; prifintj, the etfort to find out secrete 
by looking ami working in improper ways. 
curioust (ku'ri-us), v. t. To work curiously; 
elaborate. Dariex. 
curiously (ku'ri-us-li), adr. [< ME. curiosli, 
curiouseliehc ; < curious + -ly' 2 .] 1. Carefully; 
attentively ; with nice inspection. 
At flrst I thought there bad been no light reflected from 
the water in that place ; but observing it more rnriimttii, 
I saw within it several smaller round spots, which ap- 
peared much blacker and darker than the rest. 
Neirton, Opticks. 
The King's man saw that he was wroth, 
And watched him curiously, till lie bad rend 
The letter thrice, but nought to him he said. 
H'lV/tniH Morris, Earthly Paradise, III. 14(1. 
2. With nice care and art ; exactly ; neatly ; 
elegantly. 
There is without the Towne a faire Maill ctm'imWi/ 
planted. Kwlyn, Diary, Aug. 28, 1041. 
A meadow, curiounly beautified with lilies. 
Banyan, Pilgrim's l*rogress, p. 171. 
Take thou my churl, and tend him curunutly, 
Like a king's heir, till all his hurts be whole. 
Tennyson, The Last Tournament. 
3. In a singular manner; fantastically; oddly. 
With its high-pitched roofs and it clusters of curiously 
twisted chimneys it [the Manor House] has served as a 
model for the architecture of the village. 
Frotuif, Sketches, p. 233. 
4. With curiosity; inquisitively. 
We know we cat His Ifcxly ami Blood ; but it is our w is- 
dom not curiously to ask how or whence. 
J. II. Xemnan, Parochial Sermons, I. 277. 
curiousness (ku'ri-us-nes), n. [< ME. curi- 
ousnesse, eoritnue ncsnc ; < curious + -ness.] It. 
Carefulness; painstaking; nicety; singular ex- 
actitude in any respect. 
This, 'tis nunour'il, 
Little agrees with the ewnmunrm of honour. 
Massin'jer, Parliament of Love, i. 4. 
To the excellence of the metal, he may also add the rim- 
ousnrss of the figure. South, Sermons, VIII. xi. 
2. Singularity of appearance, action, contri- 
vance, etc. 3. Cunosity; inquisitiveness. 
Ah ! curwusness, first cause of all our ill, 
And yet the plague which most torments us still. 
Sir W. Alexander, Hours, i. 62. 
4f. Cleverness; remarkableness. 
Ya, sir, and of the corioiue nesse of that karle ther Is carp- 
Ing. York Plays, p. 2T.S. 
Ctirl (kerl), n. [First in ME. as adj., crull, crulle. 
crolle, < MD. krul, Icrol = Fries, trull, Irolt, East 
Fries, trul = MHG. krol, G. dial, kroll, curled ; 
the noun curl first in mod. E. ; D.lrul = G. dial. 
kroll, kriill, krollc = Dan. l-rolle = Sw. dial, krullit 
= Norw. ATM// and kurle, a curl (> D., etc., krul- 
lia, curly) ; prob. from a Teut. type 'kruslo-; cf. 
MHO. Icrus, G. kraus = D. Icroes, etc. , crisp, curl- 
ed: see crouse.] 1. A ringlet of hair. 
shakes bis ambrosial curlt, and gives the nod ; 
The stamp of fate, and sanction of the u-od. 
Pope, Iliad, I. 6S4. 
From the flaxen curl to the gray loek. 
Tennyson, Princess, iv. 
Hence 2. Something having a similar spiral 
form; any undulation, sinuosity, or flexure. 
