Curry
Pronunciation
- enPR: kÅrʹē, IPA: /ˈkÊŒri/
- Rhymes: -ÊŒri
Origin 1
1747 (as currey, first published recipe for the dish in English
Hannah Glasse, Glasse’s The Art of Cookery, 1747
), from Tamil கறி, influenced by existing Middle English cury ("cooking"),
The Origins of ‘Curry’ (Is it really English?)
from French cuire ("to cook") (from which also cuisine), from Vulgar Latin cocere, from Latin coquere, present active infinitive of coquÅ.
Earlier cury found in 1390 cookbook Forme of Cury (Forms of Cooking) by court chefs of Richard II of England.
Noun
curry
(plural curries)- One of a family of dishes originating from South Asian cuisine, flavoured by a spiced sauce.
- A spiced sauce or relish, especially one flavoured with curry powder.
- Curry powder
Synonyms
- (dish) Ruby Murray rhyming slang
- (curry powder) curry powder
Origin 2
From Middle English currayen, from Old French correer 'to prepare', presumably from Vulgar Latin conredare, from com- (a form of con- 'together') + some Germanic base verb
Verb
- (transitive) To groom (a horse); to dress or rub down a horse with a curry comb.
- Beaumont and Fletcher (1603-1625)Your short horse is soon curried.
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, Mr. Pratt's Patients Chapter 11, One day I was out in the barn and he drifted in. I was currying the horse and he set down on the wheelbarrow and begun to ask questions.
- (transitive) To dress (leather) after it is tanned by beating, rubbing, scraping and colouring.
- (transitive) To beat, thrash; to drub.
- Beaumont and Fletcher (1603-1625)I have seen him curry a fellow's carcass handsomely.
- 1663, Hudibras, by Samuel Butler, part 1,...By setting brother against brother
To claw and curry one another. - (transitive) To try to win or gain (favour) by flattering.
Usage notes
The sense "To win or gain favour" is most frequently used in the phrases "to curry favour (with)" and "to curry someone's favour",
Derived terms
Origin 3
From Haskell Curry, a computer scientist
Verb
- (transitive, computing) To perform currying upon.
Origin 4
Possibly derived from currier, a common 16-18th century form of courier, as if to ride post, to post. Possibly influenced by scurry.
Verb
- (intransitive, obsolete) To scurry; to ride or run hastily.
- (transitive, obsolete) To cover (a distance); (of a projectile) to traverse (its range).
- 1608, George Chapman, The Conspiracie, and Tragedie of Charles Duke of Byron 2.245I am not hee that can ... by midnight leape my horse, curry seauen miles.
- 1662, Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Dialogue Two)All these shots shall curry or finish their ranges in times equal to each other.
- (transitive, obsolete) To hurry.
- 1676, Andrew Marvell, Mr. Smirke 34A sermon is soon curryed over.