Dictionary

pococurantism en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌpəʊkəʊkjʊˈɹæntɪzəm/

Etymology

Etymology tree English pococurante Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English pococurantism From pococurante + -ism.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) Indifference, nonchalance.
   • The doom of Fate was, Be thou a Dandy! Have thy eye-glasses, opera-glasses, thy Long-Acre cabs with white-breeched tiger, thy yawning impassivities, pococurantisms; fix thyself in Dandyhood, undeliverable; it is thy doom. 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “The Beginnings”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book II (The Ancient Monk):
   • Happier after that expression of poco-curantism, I strolled down to Veeraswamy's and thoughtfully gorged myself with curried lamb and buttered chapatis. 1973, Kyril Bonfiglioli, Don't Point That Thing at Me, Penguin, published 2001, page 55:
   • It is queer the fantastic things quite good people will do in order to keep up their appearance of calm pococurantism. 1915, Ford Madox Hueffer [i.e., Ford Madox Ford], chapter VI, in The Good Soldier […], Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, published 1972 (1982 printing), →ISBN, part IV, page 222:

Forms