kuru
Meanings
Noun
- 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
- 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.
Origin / Etymology
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”).
Synonyms
laughing death, laughing sickness
Scrabble Score: 8
kuru is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordkuru is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
kuru is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 10
kuru is a valid Words With Friends word