noun
kuru
Kuru (noun) means a fatal disease of the nervous system, once seen among the Fore people of New Guinea, caused by an infectious protein and thought to spread through ritual cannibalism.
noun
1
A fatal disease of the nervous system, once seen among the Fore people of New Guinea, caused by an infectious protein and thought to spread through ritual cannibalism.
"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."
— Matt Ridley, Genome (1999)
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Etymology
Comes from Fore kúru, literally “trembling, shivering”. It may ultimately go back to Proto-Gorokan *kút(V) (“dangling, shaking”), if it is cognate with the reduplicated element in Yagaria gúli gúli hu- (“be loose, rattle”).
Rhymes for kuru
See all rhymes for kuru →Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of kuru?
"kuru" (noun) means a fatal disease of the nervous system, once seen among the Fore people of New Guinea, caused by an infectious protein and thought to spread through ritual cannibalism.
