curio

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkjʊrioʊ/ UK /ˈkjʊəriəʊ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a rare or unusual object valued as a curiosity

She bought a strange little curio at the antique stall.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a rare or unusual object... knickknack trinket bauble rarity novelty bibelot

Word family

Forms curios

Related forms curiosity curious

Etymology

A 19th-century shortening of 'curiosity', from Latin curiositas ('inquisitiveness'), from curiosus ('careful, inquisitive'), from cura ('care').

curiosus Latin cura Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Register & Style General Vocabulary

External links

# curio

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkjʊrioʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkjʊəriəʊ/

## Meanings
1. a rare or unusual object valued as a curiosity

## Examples
- She bought a strange little curio at the antique stall.

## Synonyms
- knickknack
- trinket
- bauble
- rarity
- novelty
- bibelot

## Related Forms
- curiosity
- curious

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: curiosus
- Root: cura

## Etymology
A 19th-century shortening of 'curiosity', from Latin curiositas ('inquisitiveness'), from curiosus ('careful, inquisitive'), from cura ('care').

## AI Etymology
Curio is a 19th-century shortening of 'curiosity', from Latin curiositas ('inquisitiveness'), from curiosus ('careful, inquisitive'), from cura ('care'). Important recorded forms include curiosus (Latin) and cura (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers a rare or unusual object valued as a curiosity. The wider family includes related words such as curiosity and curious.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Register & Style
- General Vocabulary

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