Curial

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to a curia, the governing assembly of ancient Rome or the administrative court of the papal Church
2. Of or belonging to a curia, the body of officials that governed ancient Rome or serves the Vatican
3. Pertaining to the curia, whether the Roman senate house of antiquity or the modern papal administrative offices

Etymology: "Curial" comes from the Latin "cūriālis," meaning "of the court," and the Latin word itself was built from "cūria," the royal or senatorial court, or the assembly house where Roman senators met. In English the adjective keeps that courtly flavour: it describes what belongs to a royal or princely court, or to the business and officials who serve one. English borrowed it from Middle French "curial," which carried the same sense of courtly or courtier-like. The Latin root is what gives the word its formal, almost ceremonial tone, since the court was the place where authority was exercised and etiquette was enforced. Much of the vocabulary of medieval and early modern government passed through French in this way, and "curial" is one of the quieter survivors of that stream.

Synonyms: courtly, royal, regal