# curry

Pronunciation: say "KUR-ee" /ˈkʌɹ.i/

## Noun

1. A dish belonging to a family that originated in Indian cuisine, flavored with a spiced sauce.
   - Simple: A spicy dish of meat, fish, or vegetables cooked in a thick, flavorful sauce.
   - _The restaurant's lamb curry simmered for hours in a fragrant sauce._
   - _She ordered a vegetable curry with plenty of rice on the side._
2. A ground blend of spices such as turmeric, cumin, and coriander, used to flavor food.
   - Simple: A mix of ground spices used to flavor food while cooking.
   - _He measured two teaspoons of curry into the simmering pot._
   - _A pinch of curry gave the soup a warm, golden color._
4. A sauce or relish rich in spices, most often seasoned with curry powder.
   - Simple: A spicy sauce or relish, often made with curry powder.
   - _The dish arrived with a tangy curry served on the side._
   - _He stirred a dollop of curry through the rice to coat each grain._
8. A derogatory slur for a person of South Asian heritage.
   - Simple: A rude and hurtful word for a person of South Asian background.
   - _Anonymous accounts bombarded the cricketer with messages branding him a curry._
   - _He grew used to being called a curry by online bigots throughout his career._

## Verb

3. To try to win favor or approval by flattering or pleasing someone.
   - Simple: To try to gain someone's approval by flattering them.
   - _Courtiers curried favor with the king through extravagant gifts._
   - _She refused to curry favor with the committee, letting her work speak for itself._
5. To add curry powder to food when preparing or seasoning it.
   - Simple: To cook or flavor food using curry powder.
   - _The cook curried the lentils with a generous hand._
   - _They like to curry the fish and serve it over rice._
6. To groom a horse, dressing or rubbing it down with a curry comb.
   - Simple: To clean and brush a horse, often using a special toothed comb.
   - _She curried the gelding's flanks with slow, circular strokes._
   - _Riders are taught to curry their mounts before saddling them._
7. To work tanned leather into its finished state by beating, rubbing, and scraping it and adding color.
   - Simple: To prepare leather after tanning by beating, rubbing, scraping, and coloring it.
   - _He curried the calfskin carefully to give it a smooth, supple finish._
   - _Craftsmen would curry the hides for days before the leather was ready._

## Verb

9. To move or travel in haste, or to make someone or something hurry along. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To hurry, or to make someone or something hurry.
10. To travel over a distance, or, of a missile, to fly the full length of its range. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To cross a distance, or to fly as far as a thrown or shot object can go.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To transform a function that takes multiple arguments into a series of functions that each take a single argument.
- (verb) To beat, thrash, or drub someone.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 4–5, 8** — First published in an English recipe in 1747 (as 'currey'), from Tamil கறி (kaṟi). Despite the resemblance, it is unrelated to Middle English 'cury' ('cooking').
**Meanings 3, 6–7** — Old French correer ("to prepare") gave Middle English currayen. The French verb presumably goes back to Vulgar Latin *conredare, made of Latin com- ("with, together") and a verb that was itself derived from *raidaz in Proto-Germanic.
**Meanings 9–10** — It may come from currier, a form of courier that was common from the 16th to the 18th century, with the idea of riding post. Scurry may also have influenced it.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/curry (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).