curio
Other forms: curios
A curio is a strange or interesting collectible object. Your vintage Pez dispenser collection, for example, is a group of curios.
Something worth collecting, whether it's a rare coin or a strange 19th century photograph or a bizarre clown painting, is a curio. You might even have a special, tall cabinet with glass doors for protecting and displaying your curios — you can call this a curio cabinet. The word curio, first used in the mid-19th century, originally meant specifically a collectible item from "the Far East," and was a shortened form of curiosity.
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something unusual, maybe worthy of collectingsynonyms: curiosity, oddity, oddment, peculiarity, raritytypes:collectable, collectiblethings considered to be worth collecting (not necessarily valuable or antique)collector's item, piece de resistance, showpiecethe outstanding item (the prize piece or main exhibit) in a collectionrariora(plural) rare collector's itemstype of:
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
Vocabulary lists containing curio
Rival magicians duel at a traveling circus that is only open at night.
In this nonfiction story of America, the authors recount the struggles of key African Americans in the country's march towards the equality and justice promised by the Constitution.