‖ curiosa, n. pl.
(kjʊərɪˈəʊsə)
[neut. pl. of L. cūriōsus (see curious a.).]
Curiosities, oddities; spec. erotic or pornographic books (cf. curious a. 16 b).
| 1883 Sat. Rev. 17 Mar. 350/2 Indicating at the end of his preface such miscellaneous curiosa as may be found in the mighty volume ensuing. 1920 M. Secker Let. Jan. in C. Mackenzie Life & Times (1966) V. 169 No bookseller would buy a single copy of the Rainbow even with my imprint unless he dealt in ‘curiosa’. 1947 N. Marsh Final Curtain ix. 143 She's not..the type to pore over literary curiosa unless..they were curious in the specialised sense. 1959 J. Thurber Years with Ross iv. 68 Nash was a keen collector of human curiosa. 1970 E. McGirr Death pays Wages ii. 43 Somebody told the old chap that the British Museum Reading Room has a huge collection of curiosa. |