cure: [13] The Latin noun cūra ‘care’ has fathered a wide range of English words. On their introduction to English, via Old French, both the noun and the verb cure denoted ‘looking after’, but it was not long before the specific sense ‘medical care’ led to ‘successful medical care’ – that is, ‘healing’ (the Latin verb cūrāre could mean ‘cure’ too, but this sense seems not to have survived into Old French).
The notion of ‘looking after’ now scarcely survives in cure itself, but it is preserved in the derived nouns curate [14] (and its French version curé [17]), who looks after souls, and curator [14]. The Latin adjective cūriōsus originally meant ‘careful’, a sense preserved through Old French curios into English curious [14] but defunct since the 18th century.
The secondary sense ‘inquisitive’ developed in Latin, but it was not until the word reached Old French that the meaning ‘interesting’ emerged. Curio [19] is an abbreviation of curiosity [14], probably modelled on Italian nouns of the same form. Curette [18] and its derivative curettage [19] were both formed from the French verb curer, in the sense ‘clean’.
Other English descendants of Latin cūra include scour, secure, and sinecure. => curate, curious, scour, secure, sinecure
cure (n.1)
c. 1300, "care, heed," from Latin cura "care, concern, trouble," with many figurative extensions, such as "study; administration; a mistress," and also "means of healing, remedy," from Old Latin coira-, a noun of unknown origin. Meaning "medical care" is late 14c.
cure (n.2)
parish priest, from French curé (13c.), from Medieval Latin curatus (see curate).
cure (v.)
late 14c., from Old French curer, from Latin curare "take care of," hence, in medical language, "treat medically, cure" (see cure (n.1)). In reference to fish, pork, etc., first recorded 1743. Related: Cured; curing.
Most words for "cure, heal" in European languages originally applied to the person being treated but now can be used with reference to the disease, too. Relatively few show an ancient connection to words for "physician;" typically they are connected instead to words for "make whole" or "tend to" or even "conjurer." French guérir (with Italian guarir, Old Spanish guarir) is from a Germanic verb stem also found in in Gothic warjan, Old English wearian "ward off, prevent, defend" (see warrant (n.)).
双语例句
1. The movie sees Burton psychoanalysing Firth to cure him of his depression.
在电影中伯顿对弗思进行了精神分析，想要治愈他的抑郁症。
来自柯林斯例句
2. He needed surgery to cure a troublesome back injury.
他需要做手术来治好烦人的背伤。
来自柯林斯例句
3. A permanent cure will only be effected by acupuncture, chiropractic or manipulation.
只有针灸、脊椎指压治疗或者推拿术才能实现彻底治愈。
来自柯林斯例句
4. Oranges, lemons and limes were found to cure scurvy.
人们发现橙子、柠檬和酸橙能治疗坏血病。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Punishment can never be an effective cure for acute social problems.
