Cursing

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Curse \Curse\ (k?rs), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Cursed} (k?rst) or
     {Curst}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Cursing}.] [AS. cursian, corsian,
     perh. of Scand. origin; cf. Dan. korse to make the sign of
     the cross, Sw. korsa, fr. Dan. & Sw. kors cross, Icel kross,
     all these Scand. words coming fr. OF. crois, croiz, fr. L.
     crux cross. Cf. {Cross}.]


     1. To call upon divine or supernatural power to send injury
        upon; to imprecate evil upon; to execrate.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Thou shalt not . . . curse the ruler of thy people.
                                                    --Ex. xxii.
                                                    28.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Ere sunset I'll make thee curse the deed. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To bring great evil upon; to be the cause of serious harm
        or unhappiness to; to furnish with that which will be a
        cause of deep trouble; to afflict or injure grievously; to
        harass or torment.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              On impious realms and barbarous kings impose
              Thy plagues, and curse 'em with such sons as those.
                                                    --Pope.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {To curse by bell, book, and candle}. See under {Bell}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  cursing
       adj : who is uttering obscenities; "arrested the flailing cursing
             old man"

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  54 Moby Thesaurus words for "cursing":
     Rabelaisian, abusive, bad language, billingsgate, blasphemous,
     blue language, calumniatory, calumnious, colorful language,
     comminatory, contumelious, cussing, damnatory, denunciatory, dirty,
     dirty language, dirty talk, dysphemism, dysphemistic, epithetic,
     evil speaking, excommunicative, excommunicatory, execration,
     execratory, filth, filthy language, foul, foul language,
     fulminatory, imprecation, imprecatory, maledictory, obscene,
     obscenity, profane, profane swearing, profanity, raw, ribald,
     ribaldry, risque, scatologic, scatology, scurrile, scurrilous,
     strong language, swearing, unparliamentary language,
     unrepeatable expressions, vile, vile language, vituperative,
     vulgar language