Etymologically
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curse

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kɜːs/ (UK); /kɝs/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English curs (“a prayer that evil befall someone”), a late Old English word,[2][3][4] of uncertain or unknown origin;[2][3][5][6] no similar word exists in Germanic, Romance or Celtic.[2] The Middle English Compendium suggests Latin cursus, a course, in the Christian sense of a set of daily prayers, extended to a set of imprecations,[2] and Old French coroz, anger, and Old Irish cūrsagim, I scold, have also been proposed;[2][3][5] Barnhart finds none of these satisfactory, and a link with cross is unlikely.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A malediction; a formal sentence of excommunication: before 1050.[3][7]

Semantic evolution

The great curse was the formula read in churches four times a year, listing the offences that brought automatic excommunication.[2] The evil invoked upon someone, a cause of severe trouble, is from the early 14th century,[2] and Hoad dates evil inflicted by supernatural power to the 16th.[5] An accursed thing is from 1382.[7] The verb, Old English cursian, to wish evil to, excommunicate, is as old,[2][5] and to swear profanely is from the early 13th century.[2] Curses! as a histrionic exclamation is by the 1680s (1885 in the OED),[2][7] and not worth a curse from 1763.[7] The curse of Scotland, the nine of diamonds, is attested from 1791 with obscure meaning.[2] In the 19th century the curse was the sentence on Adam and Eve in Genesis,[2] and as slang for menstruation it is from 1930.[2]

Timeline

  • before 1050 – a malediction.[3]
  • early 13th century – to swear (verb).[2]
  • early 14th century – a cause of trouble.[2]
  • 1382 – an accursed thing.[7]
  • 1791 – curse of Scotland.[2]
  • 1930 – menstruation (slang).[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An appeal for evil or misfortune to fall on someone, or the evil that results.
  2. A cause of great trouble or harm; a scourge.
  3. A profane or obscene word; an oath.
  4. (the curse, slang) Menstruation.

Verb

  1. To call down evil upon; to damn.
  2. To swear at, or to use profane language.
  3. To afflict: cursed with bad luck.
  4. To excommunicate.

Word family

  • curser
  • outcurse
  • curse word
  • cursed
  • cuss
  • accursed
  • malediction

Usage notes

In Somerset dialect curse was a form of cress.[8]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)