Where does “curious” come from?
curious (Middle English) comes from Old French curios, from Latin curiosus, from Latin -osus, from Old Latin -osos, from Latin ont-to-s, from Latin -o-wont-to-s.
curious (Middle English): careful, meticulous; ingenious, skilful; expert,...
Definitions
- careful, meticulous; ingenious, skilful; expert,...
Ancestry of “curious”, step by step
curious traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French curios
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | curios | — |
| 2 | Latin | curiosus | Careful, diligent, thoughtful, devoted;... |
| 3 | Latin | -osus | -ose, -ous; full of, overly, prone to |
| 4 | Old Latin | -osos | accusative masculine plural of -ōsus |
| 5 | Latin | ont-to-s | — |
| 6 | Latin | -o-wont-to-s | — |
via Old French curius
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | curius | — |