Kuru
//ˈkʉː.ɹʉː// name, noun
name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A chronic, progressive, fatal central nervous system disease found mainly among the Fore and neighboring peoples of New Guinea, caused by a prion that probably resembles the scrapie agent of sheep, transmissible to nonhuman primates, and believed to be transmitted by ritual cannibalism. uncountable
"By the late 1950s, kuru was the leading cause of death among Fore women, and it had killed so many that men outnumbered women by three to one."
- 2 a progressive disease of the central nervous system marked by increasing lack of coordination and advancing to paralysis and death within a year of the appearance of symptoms; thought to have been transmitted by cannibalistic consumption of diseased brain tissue since the disease virtually disappeared when cannibalism was abandoned wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 an ancient kingdom, mentioned in the Mahabharata. Hinduism, historical
Example
More examples"By the late 1950s, kuru was the leading cause of death among Fore women, and it had killed so many that men outnumbered women by three to one."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Fore kúru (literally “trembling, shivering”). Perhaps eventually from Proto-Gorokan *kút(V) (“dangling, shaking”) if cognate with the reduplicated element of Yagaria gúli gúli hu- (“be loose, rattle”).
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Sanskrit कुरु (kuru).
Related phrases
More for "kuru"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.