curieux

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ky.ʁjø/^[1]

Forms

curieux (feminine curieuse, masculine plural curieux, feminine plural curieuses)^[1] Old French curius (about 1120); feminine curieuse.^[2][1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cūriōsus (“careful; eager to know; prying”),^{[3][2][4][5][6][1]} derived through a spoken form *cūrius from cūra (“care, concern”) (see cure), which could not directly have given this form.^[2] The Latin adjective, literally “taking care”, came to mean “eager to know, inquisitive”, and in imperial Latin it was used as a noun for a spy.^[2]

Compare Old Occitan curios, Spanish curioso and Italian curioso.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Oxford Psalter (first half of the 12th century) has curius de “caring for, attentive to”; the Chanson de Roland already has li Franceis dolent et curius, “the French grieving and anxious”.^[3][7][8]

Semantic evolution

Until the 17th century the sense followed that of Latin cura: a person who takes care over something, whence the classical un soin curieux.^[2][4] From 1538 (Robert Estienne) it describes a person eager to see and know, and with curiosité it took on a negative moral value that the moralists of the 17th century stressed: as a noun (Amyot, 1594) it is close to “indiscreet”.^[3][2] The collector of rare objects (Nicot, 1606; noun 1662) suffered the same disapproval.^[3][2]

Only in the 18th century did it gain a favourable value, disinterested inquiry; today both coexist.^[2] The passive sense “worth attention, odd, strange” (Amyot, 1559) is shown by putting the adjective first, un curieux personnage, except in bête curieuse (Rousseau, 1755).^[3][2] In 19th-century slang le curieux was the police commissioner (1828) or the examining magistrate.^[2][3]

Timeline

• First half of the 12th century – Curius de “caring for”.^[3]
• 1155 – Curius de “eager for”, Wace.^[3]
• 1538 – “Eager to know”, Robert Estienne.^[3]
• 1559 – “Odd, remarkable”, Amyot.^[3]
• 1594 – Noun “busybody”, Amyot.^[3]
• 1606 – A collector of rarities, Nicot.^[3]
• 1755 – Bête curieuse, Rousseau.^[3]
• 1828 – Slang “examining magistrate”, Vidocq.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. curious, eager to know: curieux d'apprendre, je serais curieux de savoir.^[9][1]
2. Inquisitive, prying, nosy.^[9][2]
3. (before the noun or impersonal) Odd, strange, peculiar: un curieux personnage.^[2][1]
4. (classical) Careful, attentive.^[9][8]

Noun

1. An onlooker, a bystander, rubbernecker.^[1][9]
2. (dated) A collector of curios, (old slang) an examining magistrate.^[3][2]

Word family

• curieusement

Related words

• curiosité
• cure

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1564b
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert