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definitions

curry

1

or cur·rie

[kur-ee, kuhr-ee]
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR curry ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural cur·ries.

East Indian Cookery. a pungent dish of vegetables, onions, meat or fish, etc., flavored with various spices or curry powder, and often eaten with rice.
any dish flavored with curry powder or the like: a lamb curry.
curry powder.

verb (used with object), cur·ried, cur·ry·ing.

to cook or flavor (food) with curry powder or a similar combination of spices: to curry eggs.

Idioms

    give (someone) a bit of curry, Australian. to rebuke, discipline, or criticize; harass.

Origin of curry

1
First recorded in 1590–1600, curry is from the Tamil word kaṟi sauce

curry

2
[kur-ee, kuhr-ee]

verb (used with object), cur·ried, cur·ry·ing.

to rub and clean (a horse) with a currycomb.
to dress (tanned hides) by soaking, scraping, beating, coloring, etc.
to beat; thrash.

Idioms

    curry favor, to seek to advance oneself through flattery or fawning: His fellow workers despised him for currying favor with the boss.

Origin of curry

2
1250–1300; Middle English cor(r)ayen, cor(r)eyen < Anglo-French curreier, cognate with Old French correer, earlier conreer to make ready < Vulgar Latin *conrēdāre; see corody

Curry

[kur-ee, kuhr-ee]

noun

John (Anthony),1949–94, British figure skater.
John Steu·art [stoo-ert, styoo-] /ˈstu ərt, ˈstyu-/, 1897–1946, U.S. painter.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for curry

seasoning, sauce, condiment, relish, comb, groom, powder, clean

Examples from the Web for curry

Contemporary Examples of curry

Historical Examples of curry

  • We could have mock-turtle soup, a sole, curry, and roast duck.

  • And when the curry made its appearance he suddenly retired in great disorder.

  • It was put there by Old Man Curry just before the bugle blew.

    Old Man Curry

    Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan

  • "I visited a while with the children of Israel," said Curry gravely.

    Old Man Curry

    Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan

  • Old Man Curry paused a moment for thought and sucked at his straw.

    Old Man Curry

    Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan

British Dictionary definitions for curry

curry

1

noun plural -ries

a spicy dish of oriental, esp Indian, origin that is made in many ways but usually consists of meat or fish prepared in a hot piquant sauce
curry seasoning or sauce
give someone curry Australian slang to assault (a person) verbally or physically

verb -ries, -rying or -ried

(tr) to prepare (food) with curry powder or sauce

Word Origin for curry

C16: from Tamil kari sauce, relish

curry

2

verb -ries, -rying or -ried (tr)

to beat vigorously, as in order to clean
to dress and finish (leather) after it has been tanned to make it strong, flexible, and waterproof
to groom (a horse)
curry favour to ingratiate oneself, esp with superiors

Word Origin for curry

C13: from Old French correer to make ready, from Vulgar Latin conrēdāre (unattested), from rēdāre (unattested) to provide, of Germanic origin

Curry

noun

John (Anthony). 1949–94, British ice skater: won the figure-skating gold medal in the 1976 Olympic Games
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 curry
v.

late 13c., "to rub down a horse," from Anglo-French curreier "to curry-comb a horse," from Old French correier "put in order, prepare, curry," from con-, intensive prefix (see com-), + reier "arrange," from a Germanic source (see ready). Related: Curried; currying.

n.

the spice, 1680s, from Tamil kari "sauce, relish for rice."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper