curiosity
(kjʊərɪˈɒsɪtɪ)
Forms: 4–5 cory-, curiouste, 5 curyouste(e, -oste, coriouste, curiowstee, (curyste); also 4–6 curiosite, 5 cury-, curiosite(e, -syte(e, -sytye, 6 curiositye, (kewriosyte), 6–7 curiositie, 6– -ty.
[a. OF. curioseté (AngloFr. curiouseté), ad. L. cūriōsitāt-em, f. cūriōs-us: see curious and -ty. Subsequently conformed more closely to the Latin, both in French as curiosité, and in Eng. as curiositie, -ity.]
I. As a personal attribute.
† 1. Carefulness, the application of care or attention. Obs.
| c 1430 Freemasonry 32 He that lernede best..And passud hys felows yn curyste. a 1568 R. Ascham Scholem. ii. (Arb.) 87 Cæs. Commentaries are to be read with all curiositie. a 1619 M. Fotherby Atheom. i. iv. §1 (1622) 20 They which haue marked, with very great curiositie, the memorable things of euery Countrie. 1747 Gould Eng. Ants 56 A little Curiosity in Observation will easily remove so plain an Error. |
† 2. Careful attention to detail; scrupulousness; exactness, accuracy. Obs.
| c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. ii. §14 heading, To knowe the degree of the sonne by thy riet, for a maner curiosite. 1559 Scot in Strype Ann. Ref. I. App. x. 28 If they be..examyned againe and againe, this curiositie will never come to any end. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 9 Everie one will not suffer such curiositie as they require in y⊇ placing of a house. 1630 Sanderson Serm. (1681) II. 281 The Curiosity that Men use in Weighing Gold or precious Quintessences for Medicine. 1694 Acc. Sev. Late Voy. (1711) p. xxiii, To take the most exact account of all the Coasts..and to report them at their return with all possible Curiosity. |
† 3. Proficiency attained by careful application; skill, cleverness, ingenuity. Obs.
| 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 353 Beside her incomparable beautie..adorned also with all that curiositie could devise. 1664 Power Exp. Philos. i. 58 If our Dioptics could attain to that curiosity as to grind us such Glasses..we might hazard at last the discovery of Spiritualities themselves. 1676 Shadwell Virtuoso 11, You will arrive at that curiosity in this watery science [swimming], that not a frog breathing will exceed you. 1742 Leoni Palladio's Archit. I. 10 Sumptuous Buildings, which requir'd more Curiosity. 1760–72 tr. Juan & Ulloa's Voy. (ed. 3) I. iii. ii. 113 Many expert pilots, and other persons of curiosity who have employed their attention on it. |
† 4. Care or attention carried to excess or unduly bestowed upon matters of inferior moment. a. Undue niceness or fastidiousness as to food, clothing, matters of taste and behaviour. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶755 The ferthe is, curiosite [v.r. coriouste] with gret entent to make and apparayle his mete. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 2148 Common clething als he vsed, All' curyouste he refused. c 1510 Barclay Mirr. Gd. Manners (1570) F j, Though I forbid thee proude curiositie Yet do I not counsell nor moue thee to rudenes. 1531 Elyot Gov. iii. xxii, The curiositie and wanton appetite of Heliogabalus. 1601 Cornwallyes Ess. ii. xxviii. (1631) 23 We of these latter times full of a nice curiosity, mislike all the performances of our fore-fathers. 1672 Cave Prim. Chr. ii. iv. (1673) 68 A vicious curiosity about meats and drinks. 1766 Fordyce Serm. Yng. Wom. (ed. 4) I. ii. 59 In affairs of this kind, it is but just to allow to women a degree of curiosity and care. |
† b. Unduly minute or subtle treatment; nicety, subtlety. Obs.
| 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. i. iv. §6 (1873) 32 This same unprofitable subtility or curiosity is of two sorts. 1620 Markham Farew. Husb. ii. xix. (1668) 103 Besides many other Seeds, which would..shew but too much curiosity to repeat. 1680 Burnet Rochester (1692) 106 The opposition of Hereticks anciently occasioned too much Curiosity among the fathers. |
5. Desire to know or learn: † a. In a blamable sense: The disposition to inquire too minutely into anything; undue or inquisitive desire to know or learn. Obs.
| c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 227 Bi þis answere moun we se how curiouste of science or unskilful coveitise of cunnynge, is to dampne. 1388 ― Num. iv. 20 Othere men se not bi ony curiouste tho thingis that ben in the seyntuarie..ellis thei schulen die. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 2 That ye neuer by way of curiosite be besy to attempte ony persone therin. 1604 Hieron Wks. I. 488 It is curiositie to enquire into that which God hath concealed. 1675 Brooks Gold. Key Wks. 1867 V. 142 Curiosity is the spiritual adultery of the soul. Curiosity is spiritual drunkenness. 1756 Burke Vind. Nat. Soc. Wks. 1842 I. 5 You feared, that the curiosity of this search might endanger the ruin of the whole fabrick. |
b. In a neutral or good sense: The desire or inclination to know or learn about anything, esp. what is novel or strange; a feeling of interest leading one to inquire about anything.
| 1613 Salkeld Treat. Angels 43 But peradventure some may with..just curiositie demaund, how then shall wee know. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 12 A noble and solid curiosity of knowing things in their beginnings. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. ii. (1843) 44/2 There was so little curiosity..in the country to know any thing of Scotland..that, etc. 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 382 In curiosity I put some of the wood into my mouth and chewed it. 1707 Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 337 A Plant, which he resuscitated in the presence of any, whose Curiosities brought them to see it. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 253 He had perhaps at first raised this curiosity in me. 1853 C. Brontë Villette xiv, Your curiosity is roused at last. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 393 Nor had you any curiosity to know other states or their laws. |
c. Inquisitiveness in reference to trifles or matters which do not concern one.
| 1577 J. Northbrooke Dicing (1843) 95 What was the cause why Dina was rauished? was it not hir curiositie? 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 134 Curiositie, which I take to be a desire to know the faults and imperfections in other men. 1836 Hor. Smith Tin Trump. (1876) 113 Curiosity—looking over other people's affairs and overlooking our own. 1887 T. Fowler Princ. Morals ii. i. 44 Curiosity..is usually employed to denote the habit of inquisitiveness as to trifles, and especially as to the private affairs of one's neighbours. |
† 6. Scientific or artistic interest; the quality of a curioso or virtuoso; connoisseurship. Obs.
| 1661 Evelyn Diary (1827) II. 175, I dined at Mr. Palmer's in Gray's Inn, whose curiosity excell'd in clocks. 1694 Molesworth Acct. Sweden 47 This..qualifies them more for a Life of Labour and Fatigue, than of Art and Curiosity. 1779–81 Johnson L.P., Addison Wks. III. 73 Mr. Locker..was eminent for curiosity and literature. |
† 7. A pursuit in which any one takes an interest, or for which he has a fancy; a hobby. Obs.
| 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. v, Had their curiosities been sedentary. 1653 Walton Angler Ep. Ded. 4 This pleasant curiositie of Fish and Fishing..has been thought worthy the pens and practices of divers in other Nations. a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) III. 487 Fertilizing of barren ground may be termed a charitable curiosity employing many poor people therein. |
† 8. A desire to make trial or experience of anything novel; trifling interest or desire; a fancy, a whim. Obs.
| 1605 Jas. I Gunp. Plot in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) III. 13 [Parliament] is no place for particular men to utter there their private conceipts, nor for satisfaction of their curiosities. 1663 Flagellum; or O. Cromwell (ed. 2) 7 He was placed in Sydney Colledge, more to satisfie his Fathers curiosity and desire, than out of any hopes of Completing him in his Studies. 1672 Cave Prim. Chr. i. x. (1673) 295 A curiosity in many in those times of being baptized in Jordan. a 1718 Penn Tracts Wks. 1726 I. 499 He wholly denied his Wife the Curiosity of changing of but one Piece of foreign Gold. |
II. As a quality of things.
† 9. Careful or elaborate workmanship; perfection of construction; elaborateness, elegance; artistic character. Obs.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 8 Ȝif þei drawen þe peple in þe holiday by coryouste of gaye wyndownes. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 383, I..axe..that my boke be nought refused..For lack of curiosite. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 72/3 To wryte the curiosyte and werke of the temple..passeth my connynge to expresse. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxvii. lviii, Betrapped fayre and gaye Wyth shyning trappers of curiositie. 1584 Burghley Let. in Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. v. §9 An instrument of 24 Articles of great length and curiosity, formed in a Romish stile. 1665 Hooke Microgr. 163 You can hardly look on the scales of any Fish, but you may discover abundance of curiosity and beautifying. 1673 Lady's Call. i. v. ¶53. 49 Because they are loth..to abate any thing of the curiosity of their dress. 1697 Collier Ess. Mor. Subj. ii. (1709) 90 The Regularity of Motion, visible in the great variety and Curiosity of Bodies. |
† 10. Careful accuracy of construction; nicety, delicacy. Obs.
| 1593 T. Fale Dialling A iij, The making of the Horologicall Cylindre, and the Ring..we have presently omitted, partly for their curiosity in cutting and delineation. 1662 Evelyn Chalcog. Pref. (1769) 35 This art..is arrived to the utmost curiosity and accurateness. 1664 Power Exp. Philos. iii. 170 How many ticklish Curiosities, and nice Circumstances there are to perform this Experiment exactly. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 21 The chiefest Curiosity in the making..Hinges is, 1. That the Pin-hole be exactly round..2. That the Joints are let exactly into one another. 1807 Southey Espriella's Lett. I. 154 An idea of the curiosity with which these things are constructed. |
11. The quality of being curious or interesting from novelty or strangeness; curiousness.
| 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. 105 This I thought good to shew you, not for anie curiositie which is in it, but [etc.]. 1660 Sharrock Vegetables Ep. Ded., The operations themselves..are devoid of curiosity. 1686 R. Berkeley in Evelyn's Mem. (1857) III. 283 From thence we went the next day to Rotterdam, where the curiosity of the place detained us three days. 1774 T. Jefferson Autobiog. Wks. 1859 I. App. 124 The distance between these, and the instructions actually adopted, is of some curiosity. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. II. 96 The curiosity of which was overlaid by their multitude. |
III. A matter or thing that has this quality.
† 12. A curious question or matter of investigation; a nicety of argument; a subtlety. Obs.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 6 Ȝif þei..traveilen not in holy writt but veyn pleies and corioustees. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. 152 Their subtilties and bold curiosities, who have sought to plucke..out of heaven the secrets hid from the angels. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. xiii. (1611) 206 These nice curiosities are not worthie the labour which wee bestow to answere them. a 1631 Donne Serm. 367 Troubling the peace of the Church, with impertinent and inextricable curiosities. 1641 Milton Ch. Govt. ii. (1851) 145 Not to make verbal curiosities the end. 1678 Owen Mind of God v. 144 A wrangling science filled with niceties, subtilties, curiosities, futilous termes of Art. 1700 J. A. Astry tr. Saavedra-Faxardo I. 198 The Books which contain'd idle Curiosities were burnt. |
† b. A curious or ingenious art, experiment, etc.
| 1605 Camden Rem. (1637) 243 Divers curious men..by the falling of a ring Magically prepared..judged that one Theodorus should succeede in the Empire..By like curiosities it was found that Odo should succeede. 1626 Bacon Sylva §431 There hath been practised also a curiosity, to set a Tree upon the North side of a Wall [etc.]. a 1635 Naunton Fragm. Reg. (Arb.) 36 They note him to have had certain curiosities, and secret wayes of intelligence above the rest. |
† 13. A matter upon which undue care is bestowed; a vanity, nicety, refinement. Obs
| c 1400 Apol. Loll. 108 Þat he wast himsilf and his goodis, and oþer mennis, in lustis, and in oþer veyn curiositeis. 1474 Caxton Chesse iv. iii. (1860) K v b, Therfore ought the good women fle the curiositees and places where they myght falle in blame. a 1536 Tindale Wks. 238 (R) Y⊇ greater nomber receaue the wordes for a newnesse and curiositie (as they say). 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. i. ii. 35 This fashion, and the like curiosities, I would haue an Englishman to leaue when he returns out of Italy. 1643 J. Burroughes Exp. Hosea ii. (1652) 180 When we are in danger to be stripped of all, it is not time then to stand about curiosities and niceties. 1705 Stanhope Paraphr. I. 97 Useless Curiosities, and such as tend to adorn, but not at all to amend the Man. |
† 14. A curious detail, feature, or trait. Obs.
| 1653 H. More Antid. Ath. ii. xii. (1712) 79 The Eye..is so exquisitely framed..that not the least curiosity can be added. 1665 Hooke Microgr. 47 Moscovy-glass, or Lapis speculans, is a Body that seems to have as many Curiosities in its Fabrick as any common Mineral I have met with. 1747 Gould Eng. Ants 17 Pliny informs us that the Ants of his Country are wont to bury their Dead, which is a Curiosity not imitated by ours in England. |
15. An object of interest; any object valued as curious, rare, or strange.
| c 1645 Howell Lett. i. i. xviii, Amongst other Curiosities which he pleased to shew me up and down Paris. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 201 The Narcissus of Japan..that nice Curiosity. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. (1845) 361 heading, Upon the sight of a Branch of Corral among a great Prince's Collection of Curiosities. 1710 Hearne Collect. (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) III. 39 These Pyxides or Boxes are mention'd as great curiosities. 1770 T. S. Kuckahn in Phil. Trans. LX. 302 Collecting natural curiosities of the insect, bird, and beast kinds. 1869 R. Semmes Advent. Afloat ii. 695 The cargo, consisting mostly of light Japanese goods, lacker-ware, and curiosities. |
† b. collect. = Curious things. Obs.
| 1786 W. Gilpin Obs. Pict. Beauty I. p. xxii, The bowels of the earth, containing such amazing stores of curiosity. |
c. Applied to a person who is ‘queer’ in his appearance, habits, etc.; cf. oddity.
| 1873 Slang Dict., Cure, an odd person; a contemptuous term, abridged from curiosity, which was formerly the favourite expression. |
16. Comb., as curiosity-dealer, curiosity-monger; curiosity-shop, a shop where curiosities are bought and sold.
| 1789 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Subj. for Painters Wks. 1812 II. 182 Made frequent Curiosity-campaigns. 1818 Hazlitt Eng. Poets v. (1870) 128 A museum or curiosity-shop. 1840 Dickens (title), Old Curiosity Shop. Ibid. i, The curiosity-dealer's warehouse. 1860 All Year Round No. 74. 569 One—a notable curiosity-monger. |