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cur

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A mongrel dog; a contemptible or surly person—used as an insult, often in dramatic or satirical contexts.

Detailed Definition
“Cur” dehumanizes through canine comparison, common in insults (“base cur”). In poetry, it denotes low birth, aggression, or servility. Its brevity and harshness suit dramatic curses or social satire. The term’s animalistic connotation strips dignity, making it potent in class-based or moral invective, especially in Renaissance drama where honor is paramount.
Example
Example in poetry:
"A mangy cur barked at the moon," in a grotesque image; In Shakespeare’s King Lear: "The small gilded fly does lecher in my sight... / The fitchew nor the soiled horse goes to’t / With a more riotous appetite... / But to the galled jade the world’s a stew, / And all things there are as they are, / To the cur that bites the lip"; "He was called cur, yet bore a lion’s heart"; "The cur of envy snaps at virtue’s heels"; "Treat me not as a cur," pleads the wronged servant; The knight’s cur followed him to death.
Additional Notes
“Cur” dehumanizes by comparing a person to a mongrel dog; in invective poetry or social satire, it attacks low birth, aggression, or servility, and often appears in curses or battlefield taunts to deny enemy dignity.
Also Known As
dog mongrel rascal tyke
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