~ 1
■ noun ( plural curries ) a dish of meat, vegetables, etc., cooked in an Indian-style sauce of strong spices.
■ verb ( curries , ~ing , curried ) [usu. as adjective curried ] prepare or flavour with such a sauce.
Origin
C16: from Tamil kaṟi .
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~ 2
■ verb ( curries , ~ing , curried )
1》 chiefly N. Amer. groom (a horse) with a ~ combining
2》 historical treat (tanned leather) to improve its properties.
Phrases
~ favour ingratiate oneself with someone by obsequious behaviour.
Origin
ME: from OFr. correier , ult. of Gmc origin.
Word History
The rather odd phrase ~ favour is an alteration of Middle English ~ favel , which comes from Old French correier 'to groom' and the name of a chestnut horse Favel , or Fauvel , in a 14th-century French romance. This horse was a symbol of cunning and duplicity; hence ‘to ~ (or rub down) Favel’ meant to use the cunning which he personified.