▪ I. cure, n.1
(kjʊə(r))
Also 5–6 cuyr, 6–7 Sc. cuir(e, 6 cur.
[a. OF. cure care (11th c.; also in mod. dial.):—L. cūra care.]
I. Care, charge; spiritual charge.
† 1. a. Care, heed, concern. to have (take, do, etc.) no cure of (a thing): not to care for or regard it.
| c 1300 K. Alis. 4016 For his lord, nymeth god cure, He dude his lif in aventure. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 152 Construeth that as yow lyst, I do no cure. Ibid. 1143 Dido, I make of yt no cure. c 1450 Henryson Mor. Fab. 5 To get his denner set was all his cure. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 391 Quhilk labourit hes..With diligence and all the cuir he ma. a 1541 Wyatt Poems, Request to Cupid, The solemne oathe, wherof she takes no cure, Broken she hath. a 1605 Montgomerie Natur passis Nuriture 46 Of his oun kynd he took no cure. |
† b. to do one's (busy) cure: to give one's care or attention to some piece of work; to apply oneself diligently (to effect something). Obs.
| c 1340 Cursor M. 1726 (Trin.) Noe..ȝaf wriȝtes her mesure And him self dude his cure. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 654 And now cerfoil..doo thi cure To sowe in fatte and moist ydounged soil. 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. iii, If I see thou do thy besy cure This hyghe empryse for to bryng aboute. 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys A ij a, I doo my besy cure for to kepe them honestly frome poudre and dust. 1556 Lauder Tractate 233 Bot trewlie thay suld do thare cure. |
† 2. Care, anxiety, trouble. Obs.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxviii. 31 He despisis þe curys & þe noyes of þis life. 1513 Douglas æneis i. i. 60 Lo how greit cure, quhat travel, pane, and dowte. 15.. Knt. of Curtesy 82 Alas, Into this cure who hath you brought? |
† 3. Charge, care (committed to or laid upon any one); a duty, office, function. Obs. (exc. as in 4).
| c 1300 Beket 837 And [he] quath the quit al clenliche [of] eche other cure [Laud MS. wike] ther. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. cxxxiv. (1495) 944 Pan..hathe cure of shepe and of shepeherdes. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 2350 Temporall cures and busynesse worldly. 1555 Eden Decades 38 The women..haue also the cure of tyllage of the grounde. 1641 Milton Ch. Govt. Pref., The Church hath in her immediate cure those inner parts and affections of the mind. [1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 57 Cranmer had declared..that God had immediately committed to Christian princes the whole cure of all their subjects.] |
4. Eccl. a. The spiritual charge or oversight of parishioners or lay people; the office or function of a curate. Commonly in phrase cure of souls.
| c 1340 Hampole Prose Tr. 25 Holy Bisshopis..which had cure of mennes soules. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 88 Bischopes and bachelers..þat han cure vnder criste. 1490 Caxton How to Die 15 Euery persone hauyng the cure of soules. 1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII, c. 44 The persons and curates of the sayd .v. parishe churches..shall be dyscharged of the cure of the said inhabitantes. 1552 Bk. Com. Prayer, Ordering of Priests, So that you may teach the people committed to your cure and charge. 1642 Jer. Taylor Episc. (1647) 309 The Bishops of every province must know that their Metropolitan-Bishop does take cure of all the province. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. v. i. (1869) II. 395 What is called the cure of souls, or the ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the parish. 1868 M. Pattison Academ. Org. v. 134 Earning an income by tuition or by parochial cure. |
b. (with a and pl.) A parish or other sphere of spiritual ministration; a ‘charge’.
| ? 1483 Caxton Vocab. 21 b, For to gete A cure of fre chapell. 1531 Dial. Laws Eng. ii. xxxvi. (1638) 127 Then may the Ordinary set in a deputy to serve the Cure. 1552 Bk. Com. Prayer, Ordering of Priests, To use both public and private monitions..as well to the sick as to the whole, within your cures. 1660 R. Coke Power & Subj. 202 To the end the Cure may not be destitute of a Pastor. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. iii, A small cure was offered me. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 252 A proclamation..that..the clergy of the Established Church should be suffered to reside on their cures without molestation. 1882 C. Pebody Eng. Journalism xi. 78 He held..a cure of souls in Essex. |
II. Medical or remedial treatment.
† 5. a. The medical treatment of a disease, or of a patient. Obs.
| 1393 Gower Conf. III. 49 And lich unto Pithagoras Of surgery he knew the cures. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 124 Þei seyn þat mo men ben heelid bi þis maner cure þan dien. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge ii. 865 Wofully cruciat with peynes hiduous, Passyng mannes cure it for to amende. 1607–12 Bacon Ess. Seditions (Arb.) 402 The Cure must answeare to the particuler disease. 1722 De Foe Plague (1756) 49 The said Chirurgeons are to be sequestred from all other Cures, and kept only to this Disease. 1725 ― Voy. round World (1840) 339 All the while they were under cure. |
b. A particular method or course of treatment directed towards the recovery of a patient, as in water-cure, milk-cure, etc.
| [1704 F. Fuller Med. Gymn. (1711) 54 The Cold Bath..a severe Method of Cure.] 1842 Longfellow in Life (1891) I. xxiii. 427 There are about sixty persons here [Marienberg], going through what is called the water-cure. c 1860 Mrs. Gatty Aunt Judy's Tales (1863) 29 An unlimited and fatal application of the cold-water cure. 1866 A. Flint Princ. Med. (1880) 214 In order to carry out effectually the ‘milk cure’,..milk..should be taken largely. 1884 Pall Mall G. 6 Sept. 3/1 The prayer-cure, faith-cure, touch-cure. |
6. a. Successful medical treatment; the action or process of healing a wound, a disease, or a sick person; restoration to health. Also fig.
| 1393 Gower Conf. III. 338 Of maister Cerimon the leche And of the cure, which he dede. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 97 For to remeve causes þat letten þe cure of olde woundes. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 28 Past care, is still past cure. 1596 Drayton Legends iii. 177 It was no cure, unlesse he could provide Meanes to prevent the danger to ensue. 1611 Bible Luke xiii. 32, I cast out deuils, and I doe cures. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 362 Its bite is very difficult of cure. 1789 W. Buchan Dom. Med. (ed. 11) 483 Mankind are extremely fond of every thing that promises a sudden or miraculous cure. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xxiii. 162 The conditions were not favourable to the cure of a cold. 1891 Messenger of Sacred Heart Oct. 312 His cure..cannot be explained by the use of any remedies known to science. |
† b. out of (all) cure: beyond remedy; past help. Obs.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 713 And þus despeired out of alle cure She ladde here lyf, þis woful creature. 1393 Gower Conf. II. 60, I..am, as who saith, out of cure For ought that I can say or do. |
† c. Amendment, rectifying. Obs. rare.
| 1675 tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. To Rdr., The Translation..was..so out of order..that..it was thought convenient, by comparing it with the Original, to doe something towards the Cure of it. |
7. A means of healing; a remedy; a thing, action, or process that restores health. Often fig.
| 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, i. iv. 33 For my little Cure, Let me alone. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 776 Here grows the Cure of all, this Fruit Divine. 1776 Toplady Hymn, ‘Rock of Ages’, Let the water and the blood..Be of sin the double cure. 1825 A. Caldcleugh Trav. S. Amer. II. xv. 109 The most certain cure is to send those attacked from the elevated spot as soon as possible. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 11 A cure for the headache. |
8. † a. One under medical treatment, a patient. Obs. b. A person who has been cured. rare.
| 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 67, I wil follow thy counsel, and become thy cure, desiring thee to be as wise in ministring thy Phisick, as I haue bene willing to putte my lyfe into thy handes. 1591 R. Turnbull Exp. Jas. 121 A physitian bidding his cure and pacient to waxe strong. 1837 Pall Mall G. 11 Jan. 4/1 Convalescents or cures of Alpine parching..apostrophize tenderly their ‘beloved Davos’. |
9. The curing or preserving of fish, pork, etc. Also, a catch of fish so treated.
| 1743 Lond. & Country Brew. ii. (ed. 2) 122 That the Wort may have also its Cure as well as the Hop. 1757 W. Thompson R.N. Advoc. 36 For the Performance of which Method of Cure [salting pork]. 1883 A. Shea Newfoundland 7 The cure of the fish requires much care and judgment... The best cure is effected when the weather is variable. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 143 The fish caught round the Newfoundland coast are generally of good quality, but the Labrador cure..is often very inferior. 1911 ‘Viking’ Art of Fishcuring xiv. 67 When salting the fish in the tubs it would not be advisable to put one day's fish down upon the top of the previous day's cure. 1957 Fish Marketing in W. Europe (O.E.E.C.) ii. 41 The demand for salted herring was declining, and..the consumer was showing more interest in soft cures, such as pickled, marinated and smoked. |
10. [After F. cure, G. kur, cur (see Kursaal).] A period of residence at a health-resort, under medical regimen, in order to restore or benefit one's health. Also Comb., as cure-guest (= G. kurgast), cure-seeker.
| 1887 Time Oct. 420 The month's ‘cure’ at Carlsbad. 1898 Daily News 22 July 5/1 One of the speakers was an old cure servant. 1905 Westm. Gaz. 11 Sept. 10/2 The number of cure-guests registered [at Carlsbad]. 1906 Ibid. 27 Aug. 8/1 Cure-seekers at Homburg. 1908 T. P. O'Connor Campbell-Bannerman 123 He rarely took the cure [at Marienbad]. Ibid., The severe waters which the other cure-guests were taking. 1921 D. H. Lawrence Let. ? 8 May (1962) II. 653, I..can't sit supping for ever at these inside Baden-Baden cure-springs. 1955 Times 5 July 8/4 [He] has left Berlin on his annual leave for an undisclosed destination ‘to take a cure’. 1967 E. S. Turner Taking Cure 9 Taking the cure was usually a quest for healing waters. |
11. The process of vulcanizing rubber (see also quot. 1923) or of hardening or curing plastic; also (with qualifying adj.), the degree of hardness produced.
| 1902 C. O. Weber Chem. India Rubber ix. 301 The pigments and other colouring matters contained in the india rubber{ddd}contain some impurity which is responsible for their discoloration, or perhaps the ‘cure’ has been too prolonged or carried out at too high a temperature. 1907 H. L. Terry India-rubber 32 Fine Para rubber..varies slightly in its properties and price according as it is ‘Up-river hard cure’ or ‘Island soft cure’. 1908 H. A. Wickham Parà Rubber 24 Extraction and cure of the rubber latex. Ibid. 29 The antiseptic smoke-cure. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 9 Nov. 12/1 Fine Hard Cure Para Rubber. 1922 H. E. Simmons Rubber Manuf. viii. 48/2 This variation in rate of cure or vulcanizing capacity. Ibid. 98/1 There are two general methods of vulcanization, namely, what is known as the ‘cold cure’ and the ‘hot cure vulcanization’. 1923 B. D. W. Luff Chem. Rubber 19 In works practice, and indeed in technical literature, the term ‘cure’ is frequently employed instead of ‘vulcanisation’. While this has the merit of brevity, it is unfortunately used also to denote the ‘smoking’ of wild or cultivated rubber in the course of its preparation. Ibid. 136 Hydrochloric acid gives a rubber having a slower rate of cure. Ibid. 137 The effect of alum in retarding the cure of the rubber. 1943 Simonds & Ellis Handbk. Plastics iii. 136 The state of cure of a laminated material can be determined with some degree of success by a water-absorption test. 1947 R. L. Wakeman Chem. Commercial Plastics xxvi. 786 Where concentrations of catalyst in the order of 1 per cent are used, heating to 175–260 °F effects cure after several hours. 1961 L. R. Mernagh in W. J. S. Naunton Appl. Sci. Rubber xii. 1062 Hot-air cures may be divided into open-air cures at atmospheric pressure and oven cures. |
12. attrib. and Comb., as † cure-bearer, one who bears or has the care of something; so cure-master; esp. one who superintends the curing of herrings; cure-passing a., past remedy, incurable.
| 1545 Aberdeen Reg. V. 19 (Jam.) Maister & cuir berar of the townis artailyere and graytht thairof. c 1611 Chapman Iliad xxii. 27 Cure-passing fevers then Come shaking down into the joints of miserable men. 1622 E. Misselden Free Trade 47 Men of good quality..termed Curemasters. 1733 P. Lindsay Interest Scot. 201 The riding Officer, appointed..for overseeing the Curing of Herrings..with one Cure-master..at least, to assist him. 1892 C. Patrick Mediæv. Scot. vii. 132 They should be first passed by the Cure Masters of Fish. |
▪ II. † cure, n.2 Obs.
[An early phonetic variant of cover; see cure v.2]
= cover n.
| 1502 Bury Wills (1850) 92, I beqwethe to..William Coote..myne syluer salt wyth y⊇ cure, and Alys Coote the other w{supt}oute the cure. 1567 Test. K. Henrie Stewart in Scot. Poems 16th C. II. 262 As the woirme, that workis under cuire At lenth the tre consumis. a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. I. 461 Thei must neidis reteyre in a verray narrow cure. |
▪ III. † cure, n.3 Obs.
[ME. curé, app. a variant of curie, cury; in 1460 it is rimed with sure, perh. by confusion with cure n.1]
= cury.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 4275 Haue we no cures of courte, ne na cointe sewes. c 1420 Liber Cocorum 1 Of craft..that men callis cure [rime degre]. Ibid. 5 Now slyȝtes of cure wylle I preche. c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 375 To know þe kervynge of fische and flesche after cockes cure [rime sure]. |
▪ IV. † cure, n.4 Obs.
[Early southern ME. cüre:—OE. cyre.]
Choice.
| c 1000 in Thorpe Hom. I. 112 God forᵹeaf him aᵹenne cyre. c 1205 Lay. 6171 And æfter cure heo him ȝeuen Þreo hundred ȝisles. Ibid. 8077 Ten þusend monen Þet wes þe bezste cure Of al Brut-londe. a 1300 K. Horn (Ritson) 1446 The ship bigon to sture With wynd god of cure. |
▪ V. cure, n.5 slang.
(kjʊə(r))
[app. an abbreviation of curious or curiosity: cf. curio.
It appears to have obtained vogue largely from a Music Hall song with the chorus ‘The cure, the cure, the perfect cure’ (with play on cure n.), popular in 1862.]
An odd or eccentric person; a funny fellow.
| 1856 Punch XXXI. 201 (Farmer), Punch has no mission to repeat The Slang he hears along the street..But as it's likely to endure, He asks a question, ‘What's a cure?’ 1889 Monthly Packet Christmas No., Abigail v. 108 ‘You are a cure of a girl!’ was Mrs. Bowden's neat way of expressing her surprise. |
▪ VI. cure, v.1
(kjʊə(r))
[a. F. cure-r (in OF. to take care of, to clean):—L. cūrāre to care for, take care of, cure, f. cūra care.]
I. † 1. a. trans. To take care of; to care for, regard. b. intr. To take trouble; to take care.
| 1382 Wyclif Acts viii. 2 Forsoth men dredeful curiden [Vulg. curaverunt] or birieden Stheuene. ― Tit. iii. 8 That thei that bileuen to God, curen, or do bisynesse, for to be bifore in goode werkis. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 844 In hilles is to cure To set hem on the Southe if thai shall ure. 1603 Philotus lxxxv, Of all thy kin curit not the greif. a 1618 Sylvester Job Triumphant iii. 386 Whose ragged Fathers I refus'd to keep My Shepheard's Curs, much more to cure my sheep. 1623 A. Taylor Christ's Mercy, I cur'd and cur'd for all that were in woe. |
† 2. trans. (and absol.) To take charge of the spiritual interests of (a parish, etc.). Obs.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xx. 323 The Frere..hyed faste To a lord for a lettre, leue to haue to curen, As a curatour he were. c 1400 Rom. Rose 6845, I walke soules for to cure. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 314 Sithence this Bishop is carefull and diligent in curyng his owne charge. |
II. † 3. trans. To treat surgically or medically with the purpose of healing (a disease, or a patient). Obs.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. ii. v. (1495) 32 Angels ben callyd Leches and Physicyens for they cure and heele soules. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 94 For & he [the cankre] be curid, þat is to seie kutt or I-brent, þei perischen þe sunnere. 1530 Palsgr. 504 Je cure is I cure or helpe as a surgyen dothe. 1592 West 1st Pt. Symbol. §102 B, If..the said H. shal..refuse any longer to be dressed or cured by y⊇ said F. of the said infirmitie. |
4. a. To heal, restore to health (a sick person of a disease). Also fig.
| 1382 Wyclif Luke viii. 43 Sum womman..which hadde spendid al hir catel in to lechis, nether myȝte be curid of ony. 1388 ― 2 Kings v. 3 The prophete schulde haue curid hym of the lepre which he hath. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 110 Curyn', or heelyn' of seekenesse..Sano, curo. 1538 Starkey England ii. ii. 185 Nature hyrselfe curyth the patyent. 1611 Bible Luke vii. 21 Hee cured many of their infirmities. 1803 Med. Jrnl. IX. 548 The cold application was of great use..and she was soon cured. 1883 G. Lloyd Ebb & Flow II. 160 To be cured of a troublesome complaint. |
| fig. c 1530 Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 36 Thow shalte nevyr be curyd if thowe oonys knowe the cryme of thyne owne true wyfe. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 441 Ros. And thus I cur'd him [of love]..Orl. I would not be cured, youth. 1752 A. Murphy Gray's-Inn Jrnl. No. 14 ¶2 This has cured me from attempting any sport of that kind. 1758 Johnson Idler No. 2 ¶1 Disappointment seldom cures us of expectation. 1832 W. Irving Alhambra II. 148 Time cured him of his grief. |
† b. transf. To repair, make good (anything damaged). Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif 1 Kings xviii. 30 He curede the auter of the Lord, that was destruyed. a 1656 Ussher Ann. vi. (1658) 264 And there he cured such of his ships as had..been bruised. |
5. a. To heal (a disease or wound); fig. to remedy, rectify, remove (an evil of any kind).
| 14.. Circumcision in Tundale's Vis. (1843) 91 Hyt cureth sores, hyt heleth every wownd. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 9 b, The whiche cureth, releueth & heleth all defautes. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 106 Your tale, Sir, would cure deafenesse. 1665 Glanvill Sceps. Sci. 50 Deep search discovers more ignorance than it cures. 1708 Motteux Rabelais v. xvi, Well, quoth Fryar John..what can't be cur'd must be endur'd. 1791 Burke Corr. (1844) III. 357 To cure the evils brought on by vice and folly. 1872 E. Peacock Mabel Heron I. ix. 166 He had been successful in curing more than one smoky chimney. Mod. The question whether pulmonary consumption can be cured. |
b. absol. or intr. To effect a cure; often in kill or cure (see kill v. 7 e).
| 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, v. i. 99 Whose Smile and Frowne, like to Achilles Speare Is able with the change, to kill and cure. 1764–1875 [see kill v. 7 e]. 1787 Cowper Stanzas Bill Mortality I. 27 No Med'cine, though it often cure, Can always baulk the Tomb. 1908 Smart Set Sept. 82/1 Buttermilk is good for it... Warranted to cure in thirty days or money refunded. |
† 6. intr. (for refl.) To be cured, get well again. Obs. rare.
| 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. ii. 49 One desparate greefe cures with anothers languish. a 1774 Goldsm. tr. Scarron's Com. Rom. I. 179 Saldagne's wounds were in the fair way of curing. 1791 Gibbon Lett. Misc. Wks. 1796 I. 232, I must either cure or die. |
7. a. To prepare for keeping, by salting, drying, etc.; to preserve (meat, fish, fruit, tobacco, etc.).
| 1665 Hooke Microgr. 161 What their way is of dressing or curing Sponges..I cannot learn. 1711 Act 9 Anne in Lond. Gaz. No. 4874/1 Hops..brought to be cured and bagged at such Ousts. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. ix. 152, I had grapes enough..to have cured into raisins. 1745 De Foe's Eng. Tradesman xxvi. (1841) I. 258 Herrings cured red from Yarmouth. 1788 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 443 The beef cured and packed by them. 1832 H. Martineau Weal & Woe i. 2 A warehouse..where salt for curing the fish..was stored. |
b. intr. (for refl.) To be or become cured.
| 1668 Stubbe in Phil. Trans. III. 705 In Jamaica the Sugar cures faster in ten days, than in six months in Barbadoes. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. vii. 119 They [grapes] might cure and dry in the sun. 1887 West Shore Mag. (Brit. Columbia) 451 The bunch grass cures on the roots, as it stands, and remains as hay until..the spring. |
† 8. To clear (land), as for a crop. Obs.
| 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. xvii. 295 We had gotten as much Land cured and trimmed up, as we sowed 22 Bushels of Barley on. 1722 ― Col. Jack (1840) 168, I had a large quantity of land cured, that is, freed from timber. |
9. intr. To reside for some time at a health-resort, following a regimen for the benefit of one's health. See cure n.1 10.
| 1902 Westm. Gaz. 22 Aug. 2/1 Those who have come up to ‘cure’ at Davos. 1905 Ibid. 9 June 10/1 They ‘cured’ together on the balcony, and rowed together on the lake. |
10. a. trans. To vulcanize (rubber); also, to harden (plastic) or otherwise improve physical properties during manufacture by chemical treatment.
| 1853 C. Goodyear Gum-Elastic I. vii. 102 Among many experiments for drying and curing the gum,..the inventor was much elated with the result of one. 1881 Encycl. Brit. XII. 841/2 The calendered sheets are generally cured between folds of wet cloth. 1902 C. O. Weber Chem. India Rubber ix. 299 ‘Dry heat cured’ water-proof fabrics. Ibid., ‘Cold cured’ cloth. 1907 H. L. Terry India-rubber 79 Goods cured by Dry Heat..are less likely to be damaged by copper than those which are cold cured. 1908 H. A. Wickham Parà Rubber 29 The standard rubber known in commerce as ‘fine Parà’ is smoke-cured. Ibid. 32 The weight of the cured rubber should approximate very nearly that of the latex used. 1922 H. E. Simmons Rubber Manuf. viii. 48/2 They cured all of their samples at a temperature of 140 °C. 1947 R. L. Wakeman Chem. Commercial Plastics xxvi. 782 Furfuryl alcohol can be reacted with formaldehyde to yield a viscous mass which can be cured to a thermoset composition by application of heat. 1961 D. W. Huke Introd. Natural & Synthetic Rubbers v. 82 The early synthetic rubbers were much more difficult to cure than natural rubber. 1964 Oleesky & Mohr Handbk. Reinforced Plastics i. 8 The resin is fully cured and has become an infusible solid. |
b. intr. To become vulcanized, undergo vulcanization or curing.
| 1922 H. E. Simmons Rubber Manuf. viii. 48/2 A rubber which cures an hour and forty-five minutes more quickly than plain or smoked sheets. Ibid. 49/1 A rapid curing rubber. 1923 B. D. W. Luff Chem. Rubber 136 Sulphuric acid gives a slow-curing rubber if used in slight excess. 1961 D. W. Huke Introd. Natural & Synthetic Rubbers v. 83 With sulphur and accelerators present the compounded rubber may start to cure while being processed. |
11. trans. To harden (concrete).
| 1918 Hool & Johnson Concrete Engineers' Handbk. ii. 156 Where products are cured in this way, it is necessary that racks or cars be used. Ibid. 158 The curing rooms usually open into the molding department as conveniently as possible to the machines supplying the greatest number of products to be cured. 1921 Hatt & Voss Concrete Work II. 175 Demonstrate the relative strength of concrete when cured in the hot sun, in dry air, and in wet sand. Ibid. 179 The stone must be cured under a wet cloth. 1953 Archit. Rev. CXIII. 85 If these connections are grouted, the whole erection is held up while this is being poured and cured. 1970 Fremdsprachen 44 We took great care in curing the concrete, believing that by preventing escape of water from the slab, drying shrinkage would be very small. |
▪ VII. † cure, v.2 Obs.
[A phonetically reduced form of ME. cuure, cover, the v being vocalized or elided, as in o'er, e'er; cf. skiver, skewer.]
trans. To cover; to conceal; to protect.
| a 1400 Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 392 Diveris clowdys eche of us was sodeynely curyng. c 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. 2870 But, o allas! how sone he ouer-caste His heste, his feith, with whiche he was assured, And hadde his fraude with flaterie y-cured. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 110 Curyn', or hyllyn' (W. cuueren), operio, cooperio, tego. |
▪ VIII. † cure, v.3 Obs. rare.
[Cf. cure n.4, and obs. conjugation of choose.]
trans. To choose.
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1870 Þu most nede..an of þes twa curen and cheosen. |
▪ IX. cure
var. of cover v.2, to recover.