cur

See also: cúr and cûr

English

Etymology

From Middle English curre (“watchdog, small hunting dog, mongrel, mutt”), perhaps of Middle Low German or North Germanic origin. Compare Middle Dutch corre (“domestic dog, yard dog, watch-dog”), dialectal Dutch korre (“dog, yard dog”), dialectal Swedish kurre (“a dog”). Compare also Old Norse kurra (“to growl; grumble”), Middle Low German kurren, korren (“to growl”). Compare also Middle Dutch querie (“female dog, bitch”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɜː/
• IPA^(key): /kɝ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)
• Homophone: Kerr

Noun

cur (plural curs)

1. (dated or humorous) A contemptible or inferior dog.
   • c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.:

     A fals double tunge is more fiers and fell
     Then Cerberus the cur couching in the kenel of hel;
     Wherof hereafter, I thinke for to write,
     Of fals double tunges in the diſpite.

   • 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:

     you have many enemies, that know not why they are so, but, like to village-curs, bark when their fellows do.

   • 1897, Joseph Conrad, “II”, in An Outpost of Progress:

     Makola, a civilized nigger, was very neat in his person. He threw the soapsuds skilfully over a wretched little yellow cur he had, then turning his face to the agent's house, he shouted from the distance, "All the men gone last night!"

   • 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 25”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:

     "You have no more spirit than a mongrel cur. You lie down on the ground and ask people to trample on you."

2. (dated or humorous) A detestable person.
   • 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

     This butcher's cur is venom-mouth'd, and I have not the power to muzzle him.

   • 1900, Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim, page vi. 54:

     "Who 's a cur - now - hey?"

Derived terms

• curdog

Translations

contemptible dog

• Bulgarian: пес (bg) m (pes), помияр (bg) m (pomijar)
• Danish: køter (da) c
• Dutch: mormel (nl) n
• Esperanto: hundaĉo (eo)
• Finnish: rakki (fi), piski (fi)
• French: clébard (fr) m, corniaud (fr) m, roquet (fr) m, clebs (fr) m
• Galician: tus (gl) m, tisco (gl) m, cuzo (gl) m, quisquelo (gl) m
• German: Köter (de) m
• Greek: κοπρίτης (el) m (koprítis)
• Hungarian: korcs kutya sg
• Irish: amhsán m, amhsóg f
• Macedonian: ла́нгач m (lángač)
• Norwegian: kjøter (no) m
• Polish: kundel (pl) m
• Portuguese: vira-lata (pt) m, rafeiro (pt)
• Romanian: javră (ro) f, potaie (ro) f
• Russian: дворняга (ru) (dvornjaga), ша́вка (ru) (šávka)
• Spanish: chucho (es) m, quiltro (es) (Chile)
• Swedish: byracka (sv) c
• Yiddish: כּלבֿ m (keylev)

detestable person

• Danish: sjover c
• Dutch: hondsvot (nl) m
• Finnish: lurjus (fi)
• French: chien (fr) m, roquet (fr) m
• German: Köter (de) m
• Greek: κοπρίτης (el) m (koprítis)
• Irish: suarachán m, maistín m, draoidín m
• Latin: scelestus (la) m
• Macedonian: ла́нгач m (lángač)
• Middle English: dogge
• Russian: ша́вка (ru) (šávka)
• Yiddish: כּלבֿ m (keylev)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ^{(please verify)} ке̑р m, ^{(please verify)} псе̏то n, ^{(please verify)} џу̀кела f

  Roman: ^{(please verify)} kȇr (sh) m, ^{(please verify)} psȅto (sh) n, ^{(please verify)} džùkela (sh) f

See also

• bitsa, bitser
• mongrel
• mutt

Anagrams

• CRU, Cru, RUC, cru, ruc

Aromanian

Etymology 1

From Latin culus. Compare Romanian cur.

Alternative forms

• curu

Noun

cur

1. (slang, referring to the anus) ass

Etymology 2

From Latin currō. Compare Romanian cure, cur (modern curge, curg).

Alternative forms

• curu

Verb

cur

1. I run.
2. I flow.

Derived terms

• curari / curare

Etymology 3

From Latin cūrō. Compare archaic/regional Romanian cura, cur.

Alternative forms

• curu

Verb

cur (past participle curatã)

1. I clean.

Related terms

• curari / curare
• curat

Dalmatian

Etymology 1

From Latin cārus.

Alternative forms

• cuor, kuor

Adjective

cur m (feminine cuora)

1. dear, beloved

Etymology 2

From Vulgar Latin *corem m, from Latin cor n.

Noun

cur

1. heart

Irish

Alternative forms

• cuir

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʊɾˠ/
• IPA^(key): /kʌɾˠ/

Noun

cur m (genitive singular as substantive cuir, genitive as verbal noun curtha)

1. verbal noun of cuir
2. sowing, planting; tillage
3. burial
4. setting, laying
5. course; round
6. set (of implements)

Declension

Substantive

Declension of cur (first declension, no plural)

bare forms case singular nominative cur vocative a chuir genitive cuir dative cur forms with the definite article case singular nominative an cur genitive an chuir dative leis an gcur don chur

Verbal noun

Declension of cur (third declension, no plural)

bare forms case singular nominative cur vocative a chur genitive curtha dative cur forms with the definite article case singular nominative an cur genitive an churtha dative leis an gcur don chur

Mutation

Mutated forms of cur

radical	lenition	eclipsis
cur	chur	gcur

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “cur”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “cur”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “cur”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024

Latin

Alternative forms

• qūr, quūr, quōr (older spelling)
• quur, cor (rare)

Etymology

From Old Latin quūr, quōr, from Proto-Italic *kʷōr, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷōr, having undergone pre-resonant and monosyllabic lengthening from *kʷor (“where”), from *kʷos (“interrogative determiner”) +‎ *-r (“adverbial suffix”). For other Indo-European cognates, compare:

• Sanskrit कर्हि (kárhi, “when”), Proto-Germanic *hwar (“where”) < *kʷor
• Old English hwǣr (“where”), Old High German hwār (“where”) < *kʷēr
• Albanian kur (“when”), Lithuanian kur̃ (“where, whither”), Armenian ուր (ur, “where”) < *kʷur
• Norwegian Nynorsk kvar (“where”), Norwegian Nynorsk kor (“where”), Norwegian Bokmål hvor (“where”) < Old Norse hvárr < older hvaðarr < Proto-Germanic *hwaþeraz < Proto-Indo-European *kʷóteros, from *kʷos (“which”)

See also quirquir (“wherever(?)”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /kuːr/, [kuːr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kur/, [kur]

Adverb

cūr (not comparable)

1. why, for what reason, wherefore, to what purpose, from what motive

   Cur in terra iaces?

   Why are you lying on the ground?

   • 19 BC, Vergilius, Aeneis; Book XI, from line 424

     Cur ante tubam tremor occupat artus?

     Why before the trumpet (of war), fear seizes your limbs?

Derived terms

• cūr nōn

Related terms

• nam
• quia

References

• “cur”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• cur in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• cur in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • how came it that...: quid causae fuit cur...?
    
• “cūr” on page 519/1-2 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (2nd ed., 2012)

Laz

Numeral

cur

1. Latin spelling of ჯურ (cur)

Manx

Etymology

A highly suppletive verb with forms derived from two already suppletive verbs.

• The imperative and verbal noun forms are from Old Irish cuirid, from older cor, the verbal noun of fo·ceird. The verbal noun is etymologically unrelated to fo·ceird itself however, only arising in its paradigm due to suppletion.
• All other forms of the verb are from Old Irish do·beir, itself also a suppletive verb. See also Scottish Gaelic thoir and Irish tabhair.

Verb

cur (verbal noun cur, coyrt)

1. put

   Cur y muc shen magh hoshiaght. ― Put that pig out first.

2. give

Conjugation

Conjugation of cur

		first		analytical
		singular	plural
future	independent	verym	vermayd	ver
	dependent	derym	dermayd	der
	relative	verym	vermayd	ver
conditional	independent	verrin	verragh
	dependent	derrin	derragh
past	independent	hug
	dependent	dug
verbal noun		cur, coyrt
past participle		currit

Derived terms

• cur ayns kishtey (“box, crate”, verb)

Mutation

Manx mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
cur	chur	gur
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 cuirid”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Megleno-Romanian

Etymology

From Latin culus.

Noun

cur

1. (slang) asshole (anus)

Middle English

Noun

cur

1. Alternative form of curre

Middle Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish caur, from Proto-Celtic *karuts.

Noun

cur m (genitive curad, nominative plural curaid)

1. hero, warrior
   • c. 1000, “The Tale of Mac Da Thó's Pig”, in Ernst Windisch, editor, Irische Texte, volume 1, published 1800, section 15:

     Fo chích curad
     crechtaig, cathbuadaig, at comsa mac Findchoeme frim. […] Magen curad,
     cride n-ega, eithre n-ela,
     eirr trén tressa, trethan ágach,
     cain tarb tnúthach.

     Under the breast of the hero
     covered in wounds, victorious in battle, you are the son of Findchoem who is equal to me. […] Dwelling of a hero,
     heart of ice, plumage of a swan
     strong chariot-hero of battle, warlike sea,
     beautiful fierce bull.

Derived terms

• curadmír (“warrior’s portion”)

Descendants

• Irish: curadh

Mutation

Mutation of cur

radical	lenition	nasalization
cur	chur	cur pronounced with /ɡ(ʲ)-/

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Middle Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “cur”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Romagnol

Noun

cur f pl

1. plural of cùra

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kur/

• Audio:

  (file)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin culus, from Proto-Indo-European *kuH-l-, zero-grade without s-mobile form of *(s)kewH- (“to cover”). Compare Italian culo, French cul.

Noun

cur n (plural cururi)

1. (slang, vulgar, referring to the anus) asshole

   Synonyms: anus, dos, fund, popou, șezut

   O să-mi bag pula în curul tău. ― I'm gonna put my cock in your ass.

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	cur	curul		cururi	cururile
genitive-dative	cur	curului		cururi	cururilor
vocative	curule			cururilor

Derived terms

• curist

Etymology 2

Verb

cur

1. first-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of cura (to clean)

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

cur m (genitive singular cuir, no plural)

1. verbal noun of cuir
2. placing, setting, sending, sowing
3. laying, pouring
4. falling of snow, raining
5. throwing

Derived terms

• ath-chur (“transplant”)
• eadar-chur (“interjection, interruption”)

Mutation

Mutation of cur

radical	lenition
cur	chur

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “cur”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[2], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN