Plural of curiosum; rare or unusual objects collected as items of interest or beauty.
From Latin curiosus (careful, inquisitive), from cura (care). The plural form curiosa became used in English to describe collections of odd or interesting items, especially in European cabinets of curiosities during the Renaissance.
Medieval and Renaissance collectors filled 'cabinets of curiosa' with everything from shrunken heads to unusual minerals—the Instagram aesthetic of the 1500s! These collections were actually the early ancestors of modern museums.
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