LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

cūriōsus1

cūriōsus (feminine cūriōsa, neuter cūriōsum, comparative cūriōsior)
Classical[kuː.riˈoː.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[ku.riˈɔː.s̬us]
cūriōse sg. voc. m.

Meaning

  1. adjectiveCareful, diligent, thoughtful, devoted.
  2. adjectiveElaborate, complicated.
  3. adjectiveThat injures himself by care; careworn, emaciated, wasted, lean.
  4. adjectiveCurious, inquisitive.
  5. adjectiveMeddlesome, officious, prying, interfering, curious, inquisitive.
    Etenim si delectamur cum scribimus, quis est tam invidus qui ab eo nos abducat? [...] Sic isti curiosi, quos offendit noster minime nobis iniucundus labor.Indeed if I enjoy writing, who would be so spiteful as to keep me from it? … Thus are these meddlesome individuals to whom this my not at all unpleasant (to me) endeavor is offensive.45 BCE, Cicero, De finibus bonorum et malorum 1.3

In the readers how our graded readers gloss it

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativecūriōsuscūriōsacūriōsum
genitivecūriōsīcūriōsaecūriōsī
dativecūriōsōcūriōsaecūriōsō
accusativecūriōsumcūriōsamcūriōsum
ablativecūriōsōcūriōsācūriōsō
vocativecūriōsecūriōsacūriōsum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativecūriōsīcūriōsaecūriōsa
genitivecūriōsōrumcūriōsārumcūriōsōrum
dativecūriōsīscūriōsīscūriōsīs
accusativecūriōsōscūriōsāscūriōsa
ablativecūriōsīscūriōsīscūriōsīs
vocativecūriōsīcūriōsaecūriōsa

cūrĭōsus, a, um, adj. cura.
I. (Acc. to cura, I.) Bestowing care or pains upon a thing, applying one's self assiduously, careful, diligent, thoughtful, devoted (class.; esp. freq. in Cic.).
A. In gen.
(a). With in or ad: in omni historiā curiosus, Cic. Tusc. 1, 45, 108: si me nihilo minus nosti curiosum in re publicā quam te, id. Att. 5, 14, 3: ad investigandum curiosior, id. Fam. 4, 13, 5.—
(b). With gen. (post-Aug.): medicinae, Plin. 25, 2, 3, § 7: memoriae, Aur. Vict. Caes. 20 fin.: curiosissimus famae suae, Capitol. Anton. Philos. 20.—
(g). With circa: circa uxoris pudicitiam minus curiosus fuit, Capitol. Pert. 13, 8.—
(d). Absol.: non quidem doctus, sed curiosus, Petr. 46, 6; so, pictor, id. 29, 4: felicitas Horatii, id. 118, 5: manus, id. 13, 1: consilia, Quint. 7, 5, 2: interpolatione, Plin. 13, 12, 23, § 75 al. —*
2. With the access. idea of excess, too eager: est etiam supervacua (ut sic dixerim) operositas, ut a diligenti curiosus et a religione superstitio distat, Quint. 8, 3, 55.—
B. In partic., inquiring eagerly or anxiously about a thing, inquiring into, in a good or bad sense; curious, inquisitive.
1. In gen.: ne curiosissimi quidem homines exquirendo audire tam multa possunt, quam, etc., Cic. N. D. 1, 35, 97; id. Fam. 3, 1, 1; Varr. R. R. 2, 3, 5; Quint. 1, 8, 21; 11, 3, 143; * Hor. Epod. 17, 77 al.: curiosis oculis perspici non possit, Cic. Sest. 9, 22.—
2. Implying censure ( = πολυπράγμων), meddlesome, officious, curious, prying, inquisitive: primum patere me esse curiosum, Cic. Fl. 29, 70; id. Fin. 2, 9, 28 Madv.; 1, 1, 3; id. Att. 15, 26, 5; cf.: quare ut homini curioso ita perscribe ad me, id. ib. 4, 11, 2: curiosum aliquem extimescere, Petr. 127: Quae (basia) nec pernumerare curiosi Possint, Cat. 7, 11 Ellis ad loc.—
b. Post-Aug., subst.: cūrĭōsus, i, m., of one who is prying, a spy, scout: curiosum ac speculatorem ratus, Suet. Aug. 27.—Later, a class of secret spies, secret police, an informer, etc.; cf. Cod. Just. 12, tit. 23: De Curiosis et Stationariis al.—
II. (Acc. to cura, II.) Lit., that injures himself by care; hence, transf., emaciated, wasted, lean: belua, Plaut. Aul. 3, 6, 26 (v. the passage in connection); cf.: nempe ille vivit carie curiosior, Afran. ap. Non. p. 21, 28 (Com. Rel. v. 250 Rib.).—Adv.: cūrĭŏsē.
A. (Acc. to I. A.) With care, carefully: involvendus vestimentis, Cels. 2, 17; cf. Petr. 63, 6; Col. 12, 55, 2: cavere, Suet. Aug. 40 al.—Comp., Vitr. 7, 4.—Sup., Col. 11, 2, 18.—*
2. Too nicely, carefully, or particularly: curiose potius quam Latine loqui, Quint. 8, 1, 2.—
B. (Acc. to I. B. 2.) Inquisitively, curiously: inquirerem, Suet. Vesp. 1.—Comp.: curiosius conquiram, Cic. Brut. 35, 133: facere aliquid, id. N. D. 1, 5, 10: animadvertunt ea, quae domi fiunt (pueri), id. Fin. 5, 15, 42.

Origins

Back-formation from incūriōsus (“careless, negligent”) by deletion of the negative prefix in- (“un-”) in order to remain with the opposite meaning.

Descendants
  • Catalancuriós
  • Englishcurious
  • Englishcuriosum
  • Frenchcurieux
  • GermanKuriosum
  • Italiancurioso
  • Portuguesecurioso
  • Romaniancurios
  • Spanishcurioso
  • Asturiancuriosu

In English words that came into English from cūriōsus

  • curiouscūriōsus
  • curiositycūriōsitātem
  • curiosumcūriōsum
noun · masculinesecond declension
cūriōsus2
cūriōsus m (genitive cūriōsī)
Classical[kuː.riˈoː.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[ku.riˈɔː.s̬us]
cūriōse sg. voc.

Meaning

  1. One who pries; a spy or scout; secret police, informer.

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecūriōsuscūriōsī
genitivecūriōsīcūriōsōrum
dativecūriōsōcūriōsīs
accusativecūriōsumcūriōsōs
ablativecūriōsōcūriōsīs
vocativecūriōsecūriōsī

Origins

Back-formation from incūriōsus (“careless, negligent”) by deletion of the negative prefix in- (“un-”) in order to remain with the opposite meaning.

Quick answers

What does cūriōsus mean in Latin?
cūriōsus, a adjective, means “Careful, diligent, thoughtful, devoted.; Elaborate, complicated.; That injures himself by care”.
How do you pronounce cūriōsus?
In classical Latin, [kuː.riˈoː.sʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ku.riˈɔː.s̬us].
Which English words come from cūriōsus?
English words that go back to Latin cūriōsus include curious, curiosum and curiosity.