curare

The definition of curare is a black poisonous substance from certain South American plants, applied to arrows by some native South Americans.

(noun)

An example of curare is a white-tailed deer being shot by an arrow and becoming unable to move.

See curare in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

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
any of certain plants (esp. Chondrodendron tomentosum of the moonseed family), from which curare is prepared

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

See curare in American Heritage Dictionary 4

cu·ra·re also cu·ra·ri

noun

A dark resinous extract obtained from several tropical American woody plants, especially Chondrodendron tomentosum or certain species of Strychnos, used as an arrow poison by some Indian peoples of South America.
A purified preparation or alkaloid obtained from Chondrodendron tomentosum, used in medicine and surgery to relax skeletal muscles.
A plant yielding curare.

Origin: Portuguese or Spanish curaré, both of Cariban and Tupian origin.

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