curia

American  

[kyoor-ee-uh] / ˈkjʊər i ə /

noun

curiae plural

1. one of the political subdivisions of each of the three tribes of ancient Rome.

2. the building in which such a division or group met, as for worship or public deliberation.

3. the senate house in ancient Rome.

4. the senate of an ancient Italian town.

5. (sometimes initial capital letter) Curia Romana.

6. the papal court.

7. the administrative aides of a bishop.

---

curia British  

/ ˈkjʊərɪə /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) the papal court and government of the Roman Catholic Church

2. 1. any of the ten subdivisions of the Latin, Sabine, or Etruscan tribes

   2. a meeting place of such a subdivision

   3. the senate house of Rome

   4. the senate of an Italian town under Roman administration

3. (in the Middle Ages) a court held in the king's name See also Curia Regis

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• curial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• curiae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of curia

1590–1600; < Latin cūria, perhaps < *coviria, equivalent to co- co- + vir man + -ia -ia

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

curia curiae

He helped promote clerics in his and John Paul II’s mold in the Roman curia, the bureaucracy that runs the church, as well as in dioceses and orders around the world.

From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2022

The curia did not respond to an email seeking comment.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 5, 2021

“The curia takes dysfunction to a whole new level,” said Tom Doyle, who worked at the Vatican’s U.S.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 1, 2018

Francis himself referred to “a stream of corruption” in the curia.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 27, 2017

The curia was always greedy for money, and, outside of Italy, had no share in the confiscations.

From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume I by Lea, Henry Charles

Third parties can also file briefs with the court to assert their own arguments; these are known as “friend of the court” or amicus curiae briefs.

From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026

As the judge made clear in his order appointing Clement amicus curiae, he wanted “the benefit of adversarial briefing” and “adversarial testing of the Government’s position.”

From Slate ● Mar. 11, 2025

Cady filed an application for an amicus curiae brief this week to oppose the resentencing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2024

Snohomish, King and Pierce counties were represented as amicus curiae or friends of the court and complained that DSHS’ failures have affected local criminal legal systems across the state.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 16, 2023

The attorneys for the Department of Justice called themselves amicus curiae, saying they were prepared to offer more than one hundred witnesses to support the order for integration.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals