Etymologically
Log in

curieux

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 12:23. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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
  • 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