cure

See also: Cure, curé, and curê

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kjʊə(ɹ)/, /kjɔː(ɹ)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /kjʊɹ/, /kjɔɹ/, /kjɝ/
• (Norfolk) IPA^(key): /kɜː(ɹ)/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊə(ɹ), -ɔː(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From Middle English cure, from Old French cure (“care, cure, healing, cure of souls”), from Latin cura (“care, medical attendance, cure”).

Noun

cure (plural cures)

1. A method, device or medication that restores good health.
   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 5, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:

     When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose. And the queerer the cure for those ailings the bigger the attraction. A place like the Right Livers' Rest was bound to draw freaks, same as molasses draws flies.

2. Act of healing or state of being healed; restoration to health from disease, or to soundness after injury.
   • Shakespeare

     Past hope! past cure!

   • Bible, Luke xiii. 32

     I do cures to-day and to-morrow.

3. A solution to a problem.
   • Dryden

     Cold, hunger, prisons, ills without a cure.

   • Bishop Hurd

     the proper cure of such prejudices

4. A process of preservation, as by smoking.
5. A process of solidification or gelling.
6. (engineering) A process whereby a material is caused to form permanent molecular linkages by exposure to chemicals, heat, pressure and/or weathering.
7. (obsolete) Care, heed, or attention.
   • Chaucer

     Of study took he most cure and most heed.

   • Fuller

     vicarages of great cure, but small value

8. Spiritual charge; care of soul; the office of a parish priest or of a curate.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Spelman

     The appropriator was the incumbent parson, and had the cure of the souls of the parishioners.

9. That which is committed to the charge of a parish priest or of a curate; a curacy.

Derived terms

terms derived from cure (noun)

• anti-cure
• cure is worse than the disease
• cureless
• miscure

• sweetcure
• take the cure
• water cure

Translations

method, device or medication that restores good health

• Arabic: عِلَاج‎ (ar) m (ʿilāj)

  Egyptian Arabic: علاج‎ m (ʾelāg)، ثرابي‎ m (ṯerābi)

• Armenian: բուժում (hy) (bužum), բժշկում (hy) (bžškum), դեղ (hy) (deł), դեղամիջոց (hy) (dełamiǰocʿ)
• Bulgarian: лечение (bg) n (lečenie), лекарство (bg) n (lekarstvo)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 治療 (zh), 治疗 (zh) (zhìliáo)

  Min Dong: 治疗 (di liu)

• Czech: léčba (cs) f, lék (cs) m
• Dutch: remedie (nl) f
• Finnish: hoito (fi), lääkekuuri, kuuri (fi)
• French: traitement (fr) m
• Georgian: მკურნალობა (mḳurnaloba), წამალი (c̣amali)
• German: Heilung (de) f
• Greek: θεραπεία (el) f (therapeía)
• Hebrew: מַרְפֵּא‎ m (marpé)
• Irish: leigheas m

• Italian: cura (it) f
• Japanese: 治療 (ja) (ちりょう, chiryō)
• Korean: 치료 (ko) (chiryo) (治療 (ko))
• Latin: remedium (la) n
• Maori: rongoā
• Norman: dgéthithon
• Old English: bōt
• Persian: درمان‎ (fa) (darmân)
• Portuguese: cura (pt) f
• Romanian: tratament (ro)
• Russian: лече́ние (ru) n (lečénije)
• Spanish: cura (es) f, curación (es) f, remedio (es) m
• Swedish: kur (sv) c
• Turkish: tedavi (tr), kür (tr)
• Welsh: iachâd m

act of healing or state of being healed

• Finnish: parantaminen (fi), hoito (fi)

solution to a problem

• Finnish: ratkaisu (fi), hoito (fi)

process of preservation

• Finnish: säilöntä (fi)
• Maori: wāmu, whakapaoa (particularly by smoking), whakatote (particularly by salting or in brine)

• Spanish: curado (es) m

process of solidification or gelling

• Finnish: kovettuminen, jähmettyminen; hyytelöityminen

process whereby a material is caused to form permanent molecular linkages by exposure to chemicals, heat, pressure and/or weathering

• Bulgarian: вулканиза́ция f (vulkanizácija)
• Finnish: kovettuminen, kuivuminen (fi)

• Russian: вулканиза́ция (ru) f (vulkanizácija)

Etymology 2

From Middle English curen, from Old French curer, from Latin cūrāre.

Verb

cure (third-person singular simple present cures, present participle curing, simple past and past participle cured)

1. (transitive) To restore to health.

   Unaided nature cured him.

2. (transitive) To bring (a disease or its bad effects) to an end.
   • William Shakespeare

     Whose smile and frown, like to Achilles' spear, / Is able with the change to kill and cure.

   • 2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76:

     Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins. For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you.

   Unaided nature cured his ailments.

3. (transitive) To cause to be rid of (a defect).

   Experience will cure him of his naïveté.

4. (transitive) To prepare or alter especially by chemical or physical processing for keeping or use.

   The smoke and heat cures the meat.

5. (intransitive) To bring about a cure of any kind.
6. (intransitive) To be undergoing a chemical or physical process for preservation or use.

   The meat was put in the smokehouse to cure.

7. (intransitive) To solidify or gel.

   The parts were curing in the autoclave.

8. (obsolete, intransitive) To become healed.
   • William Shakespeare

     One desperate grief cures with another's languish.

9. (obsolete) To pay heed; to care; to give attention.

Synonyms

• (restore to good health): heal

Derived terms

• cure-all
• incurable
• miscure
• uncure

Translations

to restore to health

• Albanian: shëroj (sq), kuroj (sq)
• Arabic: شَفَى‎ (šafā)
• Armenian: բուժել (hy) (bužel), բժշկել (hy) (bžškel)
• Bulgarian: излекувам (bg) (izlekuvam), изцерявам (bg) (izcerjavam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 治療 (zh), 治疗 (zh) (zhìliáo)

• Czech: léčit (cs), uzdravit, vyléčit (cs)
• Dutch: genezen (nl), helen (nl)
• Finnish: parantaa (fi), hoitaa (fi)
• French: soigner (fr), guérir (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: kurieren, heilen (de)
• Greek: θεραπεύω (el) (therapévo)

  Ancient: ἰάομαι (iáomai)

• Hebrew: ריפא‎ (ripé)
• Ido: risanigar (io)

• Italian: curare (it)
• Japanese: 治す (ja) (なおす, naosu), 癒す (いやす, iyasu)
• Lao: ແກ້ (lo) (keeh)
• Latin: sano (la), medeor (la), curo (la), medico (la)
• Macedonian: лечи impf (leči), излечи pf (izleči), лекува impf (lekuva), излекува pf (izlekuva)
• Norman: dgéthi
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: helbrede

• Portuguese: curar (pt), sanar
• Quechua: hampiy
• Romanian: vindeca (ro), însănătoși (ro), tămădui (ro)
• Russian: лечи́ть (ru) impf (lečítʹ), вы́лечить (ru) pf (výlečitʹ), излечи́ть (ru) pf (izlečítʹ), исцеля́ть (ru) impf (isceljátʹ), исцели́ть (ru) pf (iscelítʹ)
• Spanish: curar (es)
• Swedish: bota (sv), kurera (sv)
• Turkish: tedavi etmek (tr), iyileştirmek (tr), sağaltmak (tr)

to bring (a disease) to an end

• Armenian: բուժել (hy) (bužel)
• Dutch: genezen (nl), helen (nl)
• Finnish: parantaa (fi)
• French: guérir (fr)
• German: heilen (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἰάομαι (iáomai)

• Maori: rongoā
• Ngazidja Comorian: uzihira
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: helbrede

to cause to be rid of (a defect)

• Finnish: parantaa (fi)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἰάομαι (iáomai)

to prepare for keeping or use

• Bulgarian: консервирам (bg) (konserviram)
• Dutch: conserveren (nl)
• Finnish: kypsyttää (fi)
• German: haltbar machen, trocknen (de), räuchern (de), pökeln (de)

• Irish: leasaigh
• Maori: wāmu, whakapaoa (by smoking over a fire)
• Russian: консерви́ровать (ru) impf (konservírovatʹ), законсерви́ровать (ru) pf (zakonservírovatʹ), вя́лить (ru) impf (vjálitʹ), провя́лить (ru) pf (provjálitʹ) (dry-cure)
• Scottish Gaelic: saill

to bring about a cure

• Finnish: parantaa (fi)

to undergo a process for preservation or use

• Finnish: kypsyä (fi)

• Maori: wāmu, whakapaoa

to solidify or gel

• Finnish: jähmettyä (fi), kovettua (fi)

• German: aushärten (de)

Related terms

terms related to cure

• curate
• curative
• curator

• pedicure
• recure
• sinecure

Anagrams

• crue, cuer, ecru, écru

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French

Etymology

From Old French, from Latin cura.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kyʁ/

Noun

cure f (plural cures)

1. (archaic) care, concern
2. (obsolete) healing, recovery
3. (medicine) treatment; cure
4. (religion) vicarage, presbytery

Verb

cure

1. first-person singular present indicative of curer
2. third-person singular present indicative of curer
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of curer
4. first-person singular present subjunctive of curer
5. second-person singular imperative of curer

Anagrams

• crue, crûe, écru, reçu

Further reading

• “cure” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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Friulian

Etymology

From Latin cura.

Noun

cure f (plural curis)

1. treatment
2. cure

Related terms

• curâ

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Galician

Verb

cure

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of curar
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of curar

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Italian

Noun

cure f

1. plural of cura

Anagrams

• ecru

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Middle French

Etymology

Old French cure.

Noun

cure f (plural cures)

1. desire

Descendants

• French: cure

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Old French

Noun

cure f (oblique plural cures, nominative singular cure, nominative plural cures)

1. medical attention
2. worry
3. desire

Related terms

• curer

Descendants

• English: cure (borrowed)
• French: cure

References

• (fr) Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (cure)

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Portuguese

Verb

cure

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of curar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of curar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of curar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of curar

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Romanian

Etymology

From Latin currere, present active infinitive of currō, from Proto-Italic *korzō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers-. Mostly replaced by the modified variant form curge.

Verb

a cure (third-person singular present curge, past participle curs) 3rd conj.

1. (archaic) to run
2. (archaic) to flow
3. (archaic) to drain

Synonyms

• (to run): alerga, fugi
• (to flow): curge
• (to drain): scurge

Related terms

• curge
• curând
• curent
• curs

• cursoare
• cursură
• încura
• scure

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Spanish

Verb

cure

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of curar.
2. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of curar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of curar.