curio, curiosity, oddity, oddment, peculiarity, rarity
(noun) something unusual -- perhaps worthy of collecting
curiosity, wonder
(noun) a state in which you want to learn more about something
Source: WordNet® 3.1
curiosity (countable and uncountable, plural curiosities)
(uncountable) Inquisitiveness; the tendency to ask and learn about things by asking questions, investigating, or exploring. [from 17th c.]
Synonym: inquisitiveness
Antonym: ignorance
A unique or extraordinary object which arouses interest. [from 17th c.]
(obsolete) Careful, delicate construction; fine workmanship, delicacy of building. [16th-19th c.]
Source: Wiktionary
Cu`ri*os"i*ty (k`r-s"-t), n.; pl. Curiosities (-t. Etym: [OE. curiouste, curiosite, OF. curioseté, curiosité, F. curiosit, fr. L. curiositas, fr. curiosus. See Currious, and cf. Curio.]
1. The state or quality or being curious; nicety; accuracy; exactness; elaboration. [Obs.] Bacon. When thou wast in thy gilt and thy perfume, they mocked thee for too much curiosity. Shak. A screen accurately cut in tapiary work . . . with great curiosity. Evelin.
2. Disposition to inquire, investigate, or seek after knowledge; a desire to gratify the mind with new information or objects of interest; inquisitiveness. Milton.
3. That which is curious, or fitted to excite or reward attention. We took a ramble together to see the curiosities of this great town. Addison. There hath been practiced also a curiosity, to set a tree upon the north side of a wall, and, at a little hieght, to draw it through the wall, etc. Bacon.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
2 April 2025
(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”
The world’s most expensive coffee costs more than US$700 per kilogram. Asian palm civet – a cat-like creature in Indonesia, eats fruits, including select coffee cherries. It excretes partially digested seeds that produce a smooth, less acidic brew of coffee called kopi luwak.
