curare Hear it!

curare definition

cu·rare or curari cu·ra′ri (kyo̵̅o̅ rä′rē, ko̵̅o̅-)

noun

  1. a black, resinous substance prepared from the juices of certain South American plants and used by some Indians for poisoning arrows: it causes motor paralysis when introduced into the bloodstream and is used in medicine for spasms or to relax muscles, as during surgery
  2. any of certain plants (esp. Chondrodendron tomentosum of the moonseed family), from which curare is prepared

Etymology: Port curare, curari or Sp curaré, urarí < native (Tupí) name

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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