English
curator
Curator comes from Latin cūrātor ‘one who has care of a thing, a manager,…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- ‘to heed’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeys-‘to heed’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷoizā‘care’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūra‘care, heed, attention, anxiety, grief’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūrāre‘to take care of’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūrātor‘one who has care of a thing, a manager, guardian, trustee’
- Englishearliest quotation 1975curator
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeys-‘to heed’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷoizā‘care’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūra‘care, heed, attention, anxiety, grief’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūrāre‘to take care of’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūrātor‘one who has care of a thing, a manager, guardian, trustee’
- Englishearliest quotation 1975curator
Earliest quotation: 1975, Tom Wolfe: “The Club became like town meetings for the entire…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- ‘to heed’
through Proto-Italic *kʷoizā ‘care’
ensure, assure, procurement, insure, manicure, 6 more
through Latin cūra ‘care, heed, attention, anxiety, grief’
sure, security, secure, cure, proxy, sicker, incurable, 12 more
Today it means
noun A person who manages, administers or organizes a collection, either independently or employed by a museum, library, archive or zoo.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- / curator