Etymology and origin of the French word cure
cure1 treatment, care
From the same root · cure1
Pronunciation
- /kyʁ/[1]
Forms
cure f (plural cures)[1]
Etymology
The word for care and treatment is inherited from Old French cure, inherited from Latin cūra (“care, concern, medical treatment”).[2][3][1][4] Rey notes that the Latin word also meant “charge, administration” and, in general use, “love's anxiety, the beloved”, and that its origin is not established;[5] Wiktionary refers it to Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- (“to heed”).[1]
Cognate with Old Occitan cura, Spanish cura and Italian cura.[4][6] The Latin family gave French curer, curieux, procurer, sûr and sécurité.[7]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is first found in the Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050), in n'en aveir cure “not to care about it”.[2][8]
Semantic evolution
The general sense “care, concern” survives only in n'avoir cure de, and the amorous sense, alive until the 16th century, has gone.[5][4] The word narrowed to medical treatment (early 13th century), and in the 19th century to a stay at a spa (1863).[2][5] From this came une cure de for a liberal use of something, as in Amiel's ma cure de romans (1850).[5][7] Postcure (1949) is the period of medical watch after a treatment.[5]
Timeline
- c. 1050 – N'en aveir cure in the Vie de saint Alexis.[2]
- Early 13th century – First recorded of medical treatment.[2]
- 16th century – The sense “love's care” dies out.[5]
- 1850 – Amiel writes ma cure de romans.[5]
- 1863 – Littré records the sense “season at a spa”.[2]
Meanings
Noun
- (archaic) care, concern; now only in n'avoir cure de: not to care about.[7][8]
- A course of medical treatment; a particular method of therapy.[7][2]
- A stay at a spa for treatment: cure thermale.[7][2]
- (by extension) A liberal use of something for one's health: une cure de sommeil.[7]
Word family
- curiste
- postcure
cure2 parish
From the same root · cure2
Pronunciation
- /kyʁ/[1]
Forms
cure f (plural cures)[1]
Etymology
The word for the parish office is inherited from Old French cure, inherited from Latin cūra (“care”), which Medieval Latin used for spiritual direction (750), especially of a parish (1031), and for the office it went with (1072).[2][9] Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert put the senses “office of a curé” and “presbytery” down to curé.[4][9]
Bloch and Wartburg derive that noun from this word,[4] while Rey derives it from Ecclesiastical Latin curātus (“having the cure of souls”).[5]
Earliest recorded meaning
Wace (1130–1140) uses it for care, administration or ecclesiastical charge;[2] the cure of souls follows in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence's Vie de saint Thomas (about 1172).[2]
Semantic evolution
In the Middle Ages the word took several Church senses, such as the care of Church affairs and in particular the office of a parish priest (about 1220, Gautier de Coinci).[4][2] By metonymy it named the parish where this charge was exercised and then the priest's house (1496).[5][4][7] This last use brought it into the field of curé.[5]
Timeline
- 1130–1140 – Wace uses it for an ecclesiastical charge.[2]
- c. 1172 – The cure of souls in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence.[2]
- c. 1220 – Gautier de Coinci uses it for the office of a parish priest.[2]
- 1496 – First recorded in the sense “presbytery”.[4][7]
Meanings
Noun
- The office of a curé, a benefice with the care of a parish.[7][2]
- A parish.[7]
- (dated) The priest's residence, the presbytery.[7][1]
Word family
- curial
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1557b
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Cure.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/cure. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.
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