cur
/kɜː/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.92 in modern English
5
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "A fals double tunge is more fiers and fell Then Cerberus the cur couching in the kenel of hel; Wherof hereafter, I thinke for to write,"
- "you have many enemies, that know not why they are so, but, like to village-curs, bark when their fellows do."
- "A Churliſh Envious Curr vvas gotten into a Manger, and there lay Growling and Snarling to keep the Horſes from their Provender. The Dog Eat None himſelf, and yet rather Ventur'd the Starving his Own Carcaſe then he would ſuffer any thing elfe to be the Better for't."
- "He threw the soapsuds skilfully over a wretched little yellow cur he had, then turning his face to the agent's house, he shouted from the distance, "All the men gone last night!""
- ""You have no more spirit than a mongrel cur. You lie down on the ground and ask people to trample on you.""
- "This butcher's cur is venom-mouth'd, and I have not the power to muzzle him."
Etymology
From Middle English curre (“watchdog, small hunting dog, mongrel, mutt”), perhaps of Middle Low German or North Germanic origin, possibly from Old Norse kurr (“grumbling”), itself of imitative origin. Compare Middle Dutch corre (“domestic dog, yard dog, watch-dog”), dialectal Dutch korre (“dog, yard dog”), dialectal Swedish kurre (“a dog”). Compare also Old Norse kurra (“to growl; grumble”), Middle Low German kurren, korren (“to growl”). Compare also Middle Dutch querie (“female dog, bitch”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: curre, -, kurr
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /kɜː/
- British English: /kɜː/