curfurt

See curfew. curia (kū'ri-a), n.; pl. cur iæ (-ē). [L.; senses 2 and 3 first in ML.] 1. In Rom. antig.: (a) One of the divisions of the citizens of Rome, with reference to locality. The number of the curie is given as thirty, but the original number was smaller. IMG:content-1833.jpg:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-1834.jpg:[blocks in formation] curiosity (kū-ri-osi-ti), n.; pl. curiosities (-tiz). [Early ly mod. E. curios i tie, curio site , cur i- ouste, curiosity, care, curiosete , curio site, F. curios ité = Pr. curios it at , curiozetat = Sp. cu- riosidad = Pg. curiosidade = It. curios ità , curios us , curious: see curious.] 1. Carefulne ; nicety; delicacy; fastidiousne ; scrupulous care. When thou wast in thy gilt and thy perfume, they mocked thee for too much curiosity. Shak ., T. of A., iv. 3. God oftentimes takes from us that which with so much curiosity we would preserve. Jer. Taylor , Works (ed. 1835), I. 690. 2. Accuracy; exactne ; nice performance. [Rare.] Hang Curiosity in music; leave those crotchets To men that get their living with a song. Shirley, Hyde Park, iv. 3. The curiosity of the workmanship of nature. Ray . 3t. Curious arrangement; singular or artful performance. To folowen word by word the curyosite Of Graunson. Chaucer , Complaint of Venus, 1. 81. There hath been practised. a curiosity , to set a tree upon the north side of a wall, and, at a little height, to draw it through the wall, . Bacon, Nat. Hist. 6. The desire to see or learn something that is new, strange, or unknown; inquisitivene . Yet not so content, they mounted higher, and because their wordes serued well thereto, they made feete of sixe times: but this proceeded more of curios i tie then other- wise. Putten ham , 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 . 7. An object of interest or inquisitivene ; 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 Curiosities which he pleased to shew me up and down Paris, brought me to that Place where the late King was slain. Howell , Letters, I. i. 18. We took a ramble together to see the curiosities of this great town. Add is on, Freeholder. Syn. 7. Phenomenon, marvel, wonder, sight, rarity. curiosity-shop (kū-ri-os'i-ti-shop), n. A place where curiosities are sold or kept. curio so (kū-ri-ōsō), n.; pl. curios i (-si). [It., = E. curious , q. v.] A person curious in art; a virtuoso. Dr. J. Wilkins, warden of Wadham College, the greatest curio so of his time, invited him and some of the musicians to his lodgings, purposely to have a consort. curious (kū'ri-us), a. [ curious , curios, F. curieux = Sp. Pg. It. curio so, curios us , careful, diligent, thought- ful, inquisitive, curious, cur a , care, etc.: see cure.] 11. Careful; nice; accurate; fastidious; precise; exacting; minute. It was therefore of nece itie that a more curious and particular description should bee made of euery manner of speech. Putten ham , Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 130. Men were not curious what syllables and particles they Hooker , Eccles. Polity. For curious I cannot be with you, Signior Baptist a, of whom I hear so well. Shak ., T. of the S., iv. 4. IMG:content-1835.png:[blocks in formation] There was a king, an' a curious king, An' a king o' royal fame. IMG:content-1836.jpg:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-1837.png:[blocks in formation] There is without the Towne a faire Maill curiously planted. Evelyn , Diary, Aug. 28, 1641. A meadow, curiously beautified with lilies. Take thou my churl, and tend him curiously , 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 its clusters of curiously twisted chimneys it [the Manor House] has served as a model for the architecture of the village. Froude , Sketches, p. 233. This, 'tis rumour'd, Little agrees with the curiousne of honour. Mas singer , Parliament of Love, i. 4. To the excellence of the metal, he may also add the cur i- ousne of the figure. South , Sermons, VIII. xi. 2. Singularity of appearance, action, contri- vance, etc.-3. Curiosity; inquisitivene . Ah! curiousne , first cause of all our ill, And yet the plague which most torments us still. Sir W. Alexander , Hours, i. 62. 4t. Cleverne ; remarkablene . Ya, sir, and of the coriousene e of that karle ther is carp- York Plays , p. 255. IMG:content-1838.jpg:[graphic] curl (kėrl), n. [First in ME. as adj., crull , crulle , crolle, krul , krol = Fries. krull , kroll , East Fries. krul = MHG. krol , G. dial. kroll , curled; the noun curl first in mod. E.; D. krul = G. dial. kroll , kröll , krolle = Dan. krölle = Sw. dial. krulla = Norw. krull and kurle , a curl (> D., etc., krul- lig , curly); prob. from a Teut. type * kruslo- ; cf. MHG. krūs , G. kraus = D. kroes , etc., crisp, curl- ed: see crouse.] 1. A ringlet of hair. Shakes his ambrosial curls , and gives the nod; The stamp of fate, and sanction of the god. Pope , Iliad, i. 684. From the flaxen curl to the gray lock. Tennyson, Prince , iv. Hence-2. Something having a similar spiral form; any undulation, sinuosity, or flexure. curl Waves or curls [in gla ] which usually arise from the sand-holes. Newton, Opticks. 3. Specifically, a winding or circling in the grain of wood.-4. A disease of peach-trees which causes great distortion of the leaves. It is caused by an ascomycetous fungus, Taphrina deformans. See Taphrina.-5. In math., the vector part of the quaternion resulting from the performance of the operation i.d / dx + j.d / dy+ k.d / dz on any vector function iX + Y + kZ. - Curl of the lip, a slight sneering grimace of the lip. curl (kėrl), v. [E. dial. crule; These mortal lullabies of pain May bind a book, may line a box, May serve to curl a maiden's locks. Tennyson, In Memoriam, lxxvii. 2. To dre or adorn with or as with curls; make up the hair of into curls. So opposite to marriage, that she shunn'd The wealthy curled darlings of our nation. Shak . , Othello, i. 2. The snaky locks That curl'd Megæra. Milton , P. L., x. 560. 3. To bring or form into the spiral shape of a ringlet or curl; in general, to make curves, turns, or undulations in or on. I sooner will find out the beds of snakes, Letting them curl themselves about my limbs. Beau. and Fl., Maid's Tragedy. Seas would be pools, without the brushing air To curl the waves, Dryden, Flower and Leaf, 1. 31. II, in trans. 1. To take the form of curls or ringlets, as hair. Sir And . Would that have mended my hair? Sir To . Past question; for thou seest it will not curl by nature. Shak ., T. N., i. 3. Ridley, a little of the stuffing. It'll make your hair Thackeray, Philip, xvi. curl. Hence-2. To a ume any similar spiral shape; in general, to become curved, bent, or undulated: often with up. Then round her slender waist he curl'd . Curling smokes from village-tops are seen. Pope , Autumn, 1. 63. Gayly curl the waves before each dashing prow. Dryden, Alexander's Feast. Byron. The smoke of the incense curling lazily up past the baldachino to the frescoed dome. T. B. Aldrich , Ponkapog to Pesth, p. 30. 1404 Long-billed Curlew ( Numenius longirostris). rope is N. phæopus. There are several species in the United States, as the long-billed curlew ( N. longirostris ), the Hudson i an or jack-curlew ( N. hudsonicus ), and the Eskimo curlew or dough-bird ( N. borealis ). Ye curlews call in' thro' Burns , On Capt. Matthew Henderson. 2. A name of several grallatorial birds with slender decurved bill, not of the genus Nume nius. - Pygmy curlew, or curlew-sandpiper, Tringa subarquata, a small species resembling a curlew in the form of the bill and to some extent in coloration. --Spanish curlew, a local name in the United States of the white ibis ( Eudocimus alb us ), a bird of a different order. curlew berry (ker'lū-ber"i), n.; pl. curlew berries (-iz). The black crowberry, Empetrum nigrum: so called in Labrador.