curare
pronunciation
How to pronounce curare in British English:
UK [kjʊə'rɑ:rɪ]
How to pronounce curare in American English:
US [kjʊ'rɑrɪ]
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- Noun:
- a toxic alkaloid found in certain tropical South American trees that is a powerful relaxant for striated muscles; used by South American indians as an arrow poison
Word Origin
- curare (n.)
- 1777, from Portuguese or Spanish curare, a corruption of the name in the Carib language of the Macusi Indians of Guyana, wurali or wurari, which had a sort of click sound at the beginning, and is said to mean "he to whom it comes falls."
Example
- 1. It is a curare alkaloid derived from the south american plant .
- 2. Plant poisons , from digitalis to curare , are routinely employed as drugs .
- 3. Curare is a generic term for various south american arrow poisons .
- 4. A vine is the source of that famous poison , curare .