Curari

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A plant-based toxin historically employed by indigenous peoples for arrow poisoning and for its muscle-relaxing effects in medical procedures
2. A botanical extract recognized for its use as a neurotoxin in hunting and as a relaxant during surgical anesthesia
3. A natural toxin derived from certain plants that was traditionally utilized by tribes for immobilizing prey and in medical contexts for its muscle-relaxing properties

Etymology: The poison that paralysed hunters' prey came from the vines themselves. Curare is a preparation made from several plants of the genus Strychnos, and its name comes from a Cariban language of South America, where words such as "urari" referred to these vines. The Kari'na, Trió, Akawaio, Pemon and Macushi peoples all used forms of the same word, which shows how widely the term was shared across the region's languages before it reached European speakers. The English word "curari" is an alternative spelling of "curare", and the spelling variant simply reflects the same borrowed word. Its meaning stayed close to the original: a substance applied to arrow tips and blowdarts to stop muscles from working, with the same substance later adapted for medical use as a muscle relaxant during surgery.