Curiosity
/ˌkjʊəriˈɒsɪti/noun
A strong desire to know or learn something.
Did you know?Curiosity comes through Latin curiositas, tied to cura, meaning “care” or “concern,” so the word originally carried the sense of being deeply, almost obsessively, concerned with something.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ḱeu-
“to heed, pay attention, care for”
Latin
Latin
cūra
“care, attention, concern”
Latin
Latin
cūrōsus
“careful, anxious, inquisitive”
Late Latin
Latin
curiositas
“eagerness to know, inquisitiveness; sometimes excessive prying”
Middle English
English
curiosite
“inquisitiveness, desire to know”
Modern English
English
curiosity
“strong desire to know or learn something”