Advertisement

Origin and history of curate

curate(n.)

late 14c., "spiritual guide, ecclesiastic responsible for the spiritual welfare of those in his charge; parish priest," from Medieval Latin curatus "one responsible for the care (of souls)," from Latin curatus, past participle of curare "to take care of" (see cure (v.)). Church of England sense of "paid deputy priest of a parish" first recorded 1550s.

curate(v.)

"be in charge of, manage" a museum, gallery, art exhibit, etc., by 1979 (implied in curated), a back-formation from curator or curation. Related: Curating. An earlier verb, curatize (1801) meant "be a (church) curate."

also from 1979

Entries linking to curate

curation(n.)

late 14c., curacioun, "curing of disease, restoration to health," from Old French curacion "treatment of illness," from Latin curationem (nominative curatio), "a taking care, attention, management," especially "medical attention," noun of action from past-participle stem of curare "to cure" (see cure (v.)). From 1769 as "management, guardianship."

curator(n.)

"a guardian; one who has care or superintendence of something," late 14c., curatour "a parish priest," from Latin curator "overseer, manager, guardian," agent noun from curatus, past participle of curare (see cure (v.)). From early 15c. in reference to those put in charge of minors, lunatics, etc.; meaning "officer in charge of a museum, library, etc." is from 1660s. Related: Curatorship.

Advertisement

More to explore

cure
c. 1300, "care, heed," from Latin cura "care, concern, trouble," with many figurative extensions over time such as "study; administration; office of a parish priest; a mistress," and also "means of healing, successful remedial treatment of a disease" (late 14c.), from Old Latin c
minister
c. 1300, "man consecrated to service in the Christian Church, an ecclesiastic;" also "an agent acting for a superior, one who acts upon the authority of another," from Old French menistre "servant, valet, member of a household staff, administrator, musician, minstrel" (12c.) and
parson
a surname), "parish priest" (later often applied to a clergyman in general), from Anglo-French and Old French persone "curate...
reverend
early 15c., also reverent, "worthy of deep respect, worthy to be revered" due to age, character, etc., from Old French reverent, reverend and directly from Latin reverendus "(he who is) to be respected," gerundive of revereri "to stand in awe of, respect, honor, fear, be afraid o
rector
late 14c., rectour (late 13c. as a surname, early 13c. in Anglo-Latin), "ruler of a country or people" (a sense now obsolete), from Latin rector "ruler, governor, director, guide," from rect-, past participle stem of regere "to rule, guide" (from PIE root *reg- "move in a straigh
pastor
late 14c. (mid-13c. as a surname), "shepherd, one who has care of a flock or herd" (a sense now obsolete), also figurative, "spiritual guide, shepherd of souls, a Christian minister or clergyman," from Old French pastor, pastur "herdsman, shepherd" (12c.) and directly from Latin
religion
c. 1200, religioun, "state of life bound by monastic vows," also "action or conduct indicating a belief in a divine power and reverence for and desire to please it," from Anglo-French religiun (11c.), Old French religion, relegion "piety, devotion; religious community," and direc
edifice
late 14c., from Old French edifice "building" (12c.), from Latin aedificium "building," from aedificare "to erect a building," from aedis, variant of aedes "temple, sanctuary," usually a single edifice without partitions, also, in the plural, "dwelling house, building," originall
shark
"large, voracious fish," by 1560s, perhaps mid-15c., if an isolated instance in a diary quoted in Middle English Compendium is the same word, of uncertain origin. The meaning "dishonest person who preys on others," though attested from 1599 (sharker "artful swindler" in this sens

Share curate

Advertisement
Trending
Dictionary entries near curate
Advertisement