Curette
/kjʊˈrɛt/noun
A small surgical instrument used for scraping tissue from a body cavity or surface.
Did you know?Curette is a French surgical term built on the same Latin root as *cure* and *curator*, originally tied to the idea of careful handling and treatment rather than magic.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
cūrāre
“to take care of, heal, attend to”
Late Latin
Latin
cūrātus
“cared for; treated”
French
Old French / French
curette
“a small scraper; later a medical scraping instrument”
19th Century
French
curette
“a surgical scraping instrument”
Modern English
English
curette
“a surgical instrument for scraping tissue”