CURRY


Meaning of CURRY in English

~ 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.

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.