curious/curio

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Bailey
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curious/curio

Postby Bailey » Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:49 pm

cu·ri·ous (kyr-s)
adj.
1. Eager to learn more: curious investigators; a trapdoor that made me curious.
2. Unduly inquisitive; prying.
3. Arousing interest because of novelty or strangeness: a curious fact.
4. Archaic
a. Accomplished with skill or ingenuity.
b. Extremely careful; scrupulous.



[Middle English, from Old French curios, from Latin crisus, careful, inquisitive, from cra, care; see cure.]


curi·ous·ly adv.
curi·ous·ness n.
Synonyms: curious, inquisitive, snoopy, nosy
These adjectives apply to persons who show a marked desire for information or knowledge. Curious most often implies an avid desire to know or learn, though it can suggest prying: A curious child is a teacher's delight. A curious neighbor can be a nuisance.
Inquisitive frequently suggests excessive curiosity and the asking of many questions: "Remember, no revolvers. The police are, I believe, proverbially inquisitive" Lord Dunsany.
Snoopy suggests underhanded prying: The snoopy hotel detective spied on guests in the lobby.
Nosy implies impertinent curiosity likened to that of an animal using its nose to examine or probe: My nosy colleague went through my mail. See Also Synonyms at strange.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved
and
cu·ri·o (kyr-)
n. pl. cu·ri·os
A curious or unusual object of art or piece of bric-a-brac.



[Short for curiosity.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.ww.freedictionary.com/curio
Some people use this in an odd way saying a thing is curious. Is it an adjective too?

mark hmmmm? Bailey

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gailr
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Postby gailr » Thu Dec 14, 2006 12:36 am

“Curiouser and curiouser!” Cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English).
-gailr

skinem
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Postby skinem » Thu Dec 14, 2006 1:03 am

We have some curious folks here, and that's a good thing!
(I don't mean it the way I hear it here in the South...it pretty well just means strange in these parts.
At least that's what it means when applied to me...


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