curioso Italian · revision 39238

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1288, Sienese translation of Giles of Rome|origins=la cūra}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kuˈrjo.zo/, /kuˈrjo.so/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''curioso''' (feminine curiosa, masculine plural curiosi, feminine plural curiose)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|cūriōsus|t=careful; inquisitive]], from [[m|la|cūra|t=care, concern]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin adjective first meant “one who takes care of something”, and, from there “eager to know”; the sense “strange” is documented in Latin from the 9th century and lives on in southern dialects.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|1195) The same borrowing is [[fr|curieux]] and [[es|curioso]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|1195)

+

+ The Oxford Latin Dictionary analyses the Latin word as [[m|la|cūra]] with the suffix [[m|la|-ōsus]], while Wiktionary takes it as a back-formation from [[m|la|incūriōsus|t=careless]], and Devoto from an intermediate ⟨*curius⟩.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto 1968) De Vaan traces [[m|la|cūra]] to Proto-Italic ⟨*kwois-ā-⟩ “care, watch” and the Proto-Indo-European root [[m|ine-pro|*kʷeys-|t=to heed]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the Sienese translation of Giles of Rome, of 1288, and Bono Giamboni uses the word before 1292; in these early texts ''curioso'' means “careful, attentive”.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999) The sense “eager to know” is in Petrarch, before 1374.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian used the adjective for something done with care, for a person refined in dress and food, for one greedy for something, and for one full of worries, as well as for one eager to see and learn.^(TLIO) The desire to know easily turned into prying: a life of Saint Anthony calls a man ''vano uomo, e curiosissimo delle mondane novitadi'' “a vain man, and most curious about worldly news”.^(GDLI)

+

+ The sense “odd, unusual, arousing curiosity” is recorded about 1535, in Annibal Caro.^(DELI 1999) The noun [[curiosità]] goes back to Bono Giamboni before 1292, and took the sense “rare object” in Galileo; the verb [[curiosare]], to poke about, appears in Ippolito Nievo before 1861.^(DELI 1999) English borrowed the noun ''curioso'' in 1658–1672 for a person curious about science and art, and later a connoisseur.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1288 – The Sienese translation of Giles of Rome uses ''curioso''.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for “careful” and has ''curiosità''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1374 – Petrarch uses ''curioso'' for “eager to know”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * About 1535 – Annibal Caro uses it for “strange”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1642 – Galileo uses ''curiosità'' for a rare object.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1658–1672 – English borrows ''curioso''.^(DIFIT)

+ * Before 1861 – Ippolito Nievo has the verb ''curiosare''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|curious]], eager to know and learn: ''Era un ragazzo curioso di ogni cosa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|nosy]], inquisitive about other people's affairs: ''Non essere così curioso!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Odd, strange, unusual; also as an exclamation: ''È curioso che nessuno l'abbia notato.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Interesting, witty: ''una storia curiosa''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(literary)'' Careful, diligent.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An onlooker, a [[m|en|busybody]]: ''Davanti al negozio si era radunato un gruppo di curiosi.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''il curioso'': the odd thing: ''Il curioso è che lei non se ne sia accorta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[curiosità]]

+ * [[curiosare]]

+ * [[curiosaggine]]

+ * [[curiosamente]]

+ * [[curiosone]]

+ * [[incuriosire]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cura]]

+ * [[la|cūriōsus]]

+ * [[fr|curieux]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}