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.

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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

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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

“He wasn’t guilty,” said Rodrigo Valdivia, the San Diego diocese’s vice-moderator of the curia, “but that’s not to say he was innocent.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2018

They were always suffering from the greed of the Roman curia, and were perpetually involved in struggles to resist its encroachments.

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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2024

Writing in dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor cited an amicus curiae brief submitted by former consular officers explaining that the interview process is fundamentally flawed:

From Slate ● Jul. 23, 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

Before the decision, 192 members of Congress also wrote an amicus curiae brief in support of the respondents.

From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2022

Word was whispered down our line that amicus curiae meant “friend of the court.”

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