cur

[kur]

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noun

a mongrel dog, especially a worthless or unfriendly one.
a mean, cowardly person.

Origin of cur

1175–1225; Middle English curre, apparently shortened from curdogge. See cur dog

Related formscur·like, adjective

Synonyms for cur

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2. blackguard, cad, heel.

cur.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cur

skunk, toad, coward, dog, villain, riffraff, rat, wretch, good-for-nothing, snake, bum, scum, blackguard, hound, scoundrel, heel, cad, stinker, worm

Examples from the Web for cur

Historical Examples of cur

It is a fool's plan to teach a man to be a cur in peace, and think that he will be a lion in war.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
"You were always a cur and a traitor, Mark Shaw," cried Aylward.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
Had he not once picked up a cur on such a stormy night as this?
His Masterpiece
Emile Zola
In the village two people only, the cur and the garde champtre?
The Fte At Coqueville
Emile Zola
"That" was a kick that doubled the cur up against the settee.
Cap'n Eri
Joseph Crosby Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for cur

cur

noun

any vicious dog, esp a mongrel
a despicable or cowardly person

Word Origin for cur

C13: shortened from kurdogge; probably related to Old Norse kurra to growl

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cur

early 13c., curre, earlier kurdogge used of both vicious dogs and cowardly dogs, probably from Old Norse kurra or Middle Low German korren both echoic, both meaning "to growl." Cf. Swedish dialectal kurre, Middle Dutch corre "house dog."