curia

[ kyoor-ee-uh ]

noun,plural cu·ri·ae

[kyoor-ee-ee]. /ˈkyʊər iˌi/.

one of the political subdivisions of each of the three tribes of ancient Rome.
the building in which such a division or group met, as for worship or public deliberation.

the senate house in ancient Rome.
the senate of an ancient Italian town.
(sometimes initial capital letter) Curia Romana.
the papal court.
the administrative aides of a bishop.

Origin of curia

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

Other words from curia

cu·ri·al, adjective

Words Nearby curia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use curia in a sentence

His words apply not only to the Roman curia at the Vatican but to the entire Church throughout the world.
Pope Francis Denounces the Vatican Elite’s 'Spiritual Alzheimer’s' | Barbie Latza Nadeau | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But the Vatican curia was there before he was elected pope, and it will be there long after his ministry ends.
An Openly Gay Episcopal Bishop Prays for Pope Francis | Gene Robinson | March 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
“In the curia there are holy people, truly holy people,” Francis reportedly told the Latin American delegation.
Vatican’s Pope-Protecting Swiss Guards Accused Of Secret Gay Lobby | Barbie Latza Nadeau | January 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But he has only been in the job for six months, and his promise of reforming the curia may just be the tip of the iceberg.
Pope Francis’s Rough Road to Reform | Barbie Latza Nadeau | October 3, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Imagine that the Jesuit curia in Rome offered a compromise, which the state accepted.
Women: Talk To The Wall | Bernard Avishai | June 14, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

Marius, in order to protect their safety, imprisoned them in a large building, known as the curia Hostilia.
The Two Great Republics: Rome and the United States | James Hamilton Lewis
The tribe was divided into ten curi; at the head of each curia was a curion.
History of Julius Caesar Vol. 1 of 2 | Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, 1808-1873.
Is fundator erat cuiusdam urbis a seipso denominate, que lingua Anglicana Warwic, id est curia Warmundi, nuncupatur.
Beowulf | R. W. Chambers
Every face, every eye was turned to the curia, in the evident expectation of something great and strange taking place there.
The Bride of the Nile, Complete | Georg Ebers
Unlike the Grecian phratry and the Roman curia it had no official head.
Ancient Society | Lewis Henry Morgan

British Dictionary definitions for curia

curia

/ (ˈkjʊərɪə) /

nounplural -riae (-rɪˌiː)

(sometimes capital) the papal court and government of the Roman Catholic Church
(in ancient Rome)
- any of the ten subdivisions of the Latin, Sabine, or Etruscan tribes
- a meeting place of such a subdivision
- the senate house of Rome
- the senate of an Italian town under Roman administration

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

Origin of curia

C16: from Latin, from Old Latin coviria (unattested), from co- + vir man

Derived forms of curia

curial, adjective

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

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