Pococurante
[poh-koh-koo-RAHN-tee]
Part of speech: adjective
Origin: French, 18th century
1.
Apathetic, indifferent, or nonchalant.
Examples of Pococurante in a sentence
"The pococurante taxi driver nearly sideswiped several other cars getting us to the airport, yet he didn’t seem especially troubled."
"Unfortunately, the heritage building was owned for decades by a pococurante landlord who failed to do standard maintenance."
About Pococurante
“Pococurante” is a French loanword coined by author Voltaire, who joined the Italian words “poco” (“little”) and “curante” (caring).
Did you Know?
The word “pococurante” came to French from Italian in an uncommon way: In his 1759 satirical novel “Candide, or Optimism,” Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire introduced the character of Signor Pococurante, a Venetian nobleman who cares nothing about great works of art. Thanks to the popularity of the book, the character of Signor Pococurante became instantly identifiable as a representative of indifference to the things others find important. A few short years after “Candide” was published, “pococurante” entered English as a noun for an indifferent or apathetic person, and within 50 years, the term had become an adjective describing apathetic indifference.
