cure

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /kjɔː(r)/ UK /kjɵː/ See IPA manual

Freq #2403

Meanings

1

verb
To make an illness or a sick person healthy again.

The new medicine cured her infection within days.
2

noun
A medicine or treatment that makes an illness go away.

Scientists are still searching for a cure for the disease.
3

verb
To preserve food such as meat or fish by drying, salting, or smoking it.

They cure the ham with salt and smoke for several weeks.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make an illness or a... heal

2 noun · a medicine or treatment... curative treatment

Word family

Forms curablecuredcurescuring

Derived forms anti-curecurabilitycure-allcurebiecurelesscurerdry-curefaith-curefire-cureincurableking-curemiscure

Related forms curate curative curator pedicurerecuresinecure

Appears in

Proverbs (7)

See all

Simplified etymology

Cure entered Middle English and belongs to the group of words derived from Latin cura, meaning “care.”

Etymology

From Middle English cure, borrowed from Old French cure (“care, cure, healing, cure of souls”), from Latin cura (“care, medical attendance, cure”). Displaced native Old English hǣlu, but this survived as heal.

*kʷeys- Proto-Indo-European cure Middle English cura Latin

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Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# cure

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /kjɔː(r)/
**IPA (UK):** /kjɵː/
**Frequency rank:** 2403

## Meanings
1. To make an illness or a sick person healthy again.
2. A medicine or treatment that makes an illness go away.
3. To preserve food such as meat or fish by drying, salting, or smoking it.

## Examples
- The new medicine cured her infection within days.
- Scientists are still searching for a cure for the disease.
- They cure the ham with salt and smoke for several weeks.

## Derived Forms
- anti-cure
- curability
- cure-all
- curebie
- cureless
- curer
- dry-cure
- faith-cure
- fire-cure
- incurable
- king-cure
- miscure

## Related Forms
- curate
- curative
- curator
- pedicure
- recure
- sinecure

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kʷeys-
- Root: cure
- Root: cura

## Etymology
From Middle English cure, borrowed from Old French cure (“care, cure, healing, cure of souls”), from Latin cura (“care, medical attendance, cure”). Displaced native Old English hǣlu, but this survived as heal.

## AI Etymology
cure comes from Middle English cure, borrowed from Old French cure (“care, cure, healing, cure of souls”), from Latin cura (“care, medical attendance, cure”). Displaced native Old English hǣlu, but this survived as heal. The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys-, Middle English cure, Old French cure, Latin cura. Current senses include to make an illness or a sick person healthy again and A medicine or treatment that makes an illness go away. English relatives and later formations include anti-cure, curability, cure-all, curate, curative.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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