English

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Etymology

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From pococurante +‎ -ism.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˌpəʊkəʊkjʊˈɹæntɪzəm/

Noun

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pococurantism (countable and uncountable, plural pococurantisms)

  1. Indifference, nonchalance.
    • 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “ch. XVII, 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):
      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.
    • 1915, Ford Madox Hueffer [i.e., Ford Madox Ford], chapter VI, in The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion, London: John Lane, The Bodley Head; New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company, →OCLC; republished Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, 1972 (1982 printing), →ISBN, part IV, page 222:
      It is queer the fantastic things quite good people will do in order to keep up their appearance of calm pococurantism.
    • 1973, Kyril Bonfiglioli, Don't Point That Thing at Me, Penguin, published 2001, page 55:
      Happier after that expression of poco-curantism, I strolled down to Veeraswamy's and thoughtfully gorged myself with curried lamb and buttered chapatis.