cursor

See also: Cursor

English

Alternative forms

• cursour (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cursor (“runner”), from currō (“run”) + -or (agentive suffix). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, Australia) IPA^(key): /ˈkɜːsə/, [ˈkʰɜːsə]

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈkɜɹsəɹ/, [ˈkʰɝsɚ]
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)sə(ɹ)

Noun

cursor (plural cursors)

1. A part of any of several scientific or measuring instruments that moves back and forth to indicate a position.
   • 1679, Roger Palmer, 1st Earl of Castlemaine; Joseph Moxon, The English globe being a stabil and immobil one, performing what the ordinary globes do, and much more, page 150:

     Besides, the Reader must know, if a Brazen graduated Semi-Circle were hung on the Poles here, with an erected moveable Pin, or Cursor on it, there would be no need of the Holes […] in each Parallel of the Globe, for the true Composing of it […]

2. (graphical user interface) A moving icon or other representation of the position of the pointing device.

   Synonym: pointer

3. (computing) An indicator, often a blinking line or bar, indicating where the next insertion or other edit will take place.

   Synonym: caret

4. (databases) A reference to a row of data in a table, which moves from row to row as data is retrieved by way of it.
5. (programming) A design pattern in object oriented methodology in which a collection is iterated uniformly.

   Synonym: iterator pattern

Derived terms

• cursorjacking
• cursorless
• firehose cursor
• postcursor
• precursor

Related terms

• courier
• current
• cursive
• cursory
• recursive

Translations

part of scientific instruments that indicates position

• Arabic: مُؤَشِّر m (muʔaššir)
• Bulgarian: стрелка́ (bg) f (strelká)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 遊標 / 游标 (zh) (yóubiāo) or 游標 / 游标 (yóubiāo), 光標 / 光标 (zh) (guāngbiāo)

• Finnish: osoitin (fi)
• French: curseur (fr) m
• Galician: cursor m
• German: Cursor (de) m, Läufer (de) m
• Greek: δείκτης (el) m (deíktis)
• Japanese: カーソル (ja) (kāsoru)
• Korean: 커서 (ko) (keoseo)
• Lithuanian: žymeklis
• Māori: pehu
• Norman: curseu m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: markør m

• Portuguese: cursor (pt) m
• Romanian: cursor (ro) n
• Russian: курсо́р (ru) m (kursór), стре́лка (ru) f (strélka), указа́тель (ru) m (ukazátelʹ), движо́к (ru) m (dvižók) (on the scale)
• Spanish: cursor m
• Welsh: cyrchydd m, rhedell f

GUI: moving icon representing the position of a pointing device — see also pointer

• Armenian: նշորդ (nšord)
• Belarusian: курсо́р m (kursór)
• Bulgarian: ку́рсор (bg) m (kúrsor)
• Catalan: cursor (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 游標 / 游标 (yóubiāo)

• Cornish: resell f
• Danish: musepil c, pil c, markør c
• Dutch: muisaanwijzer m, cursor (nl) m
• Esperanto: kursoro sg, muskursoro sg
• Finnish: osoitin (fi)
• French: curseur (fr) m
• German: Mauszeiger (de) m
• Greek: δρομέας (el) m (droméas), κέρσορας (el) m (kérsoras)
• Hebrew: סמן (he) m (samán), מצביע m (matsbía, literally “pointer”), עכבר (he) m (akhbár, literally “mouse”), סמן עכבר m (saman akhbár, literally “mouse-cursor”)
• Hungarian: kurzor (hu)
• Icelandic: bendill (is) m, músarbendill m (mouse cursor)
• Japanese: カーソル (ja) (kāsoru)
• Korean: 커서 (ko) (keoseo)
• Māori: pehu
• Polish: kursor (pl) m
• Portuguese: cursor (pt) m, ponteiro (pt) m
• Russian: курсо́р (ru) m (kursór)
• Slovene: kazalnik m, kurzor m
• Spanish: cursor m, puntero (es) m
• Swedish: muspekare (sv) c, pekare (sv) c
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Tibetan: འོད་རྟགས ('od rtags, literally “light-sign”), མདའ (mda', literally “arrow”) (specifically, arrow-shaped cursors)
• Turkish: imleç (tr)
• Ukrainian: курсо́р (uk) m (kursór)
• Vietnamese: con trỏ (vi)
• Welsh: cyrchwr m

computing: indicator of where the next insertation or other edit will take place

• Armenian: նշորդ (nšord)
• Belarusian: курсо́р m (kursór)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 游標 / 游标 (yóubiāo)

• Danish: musepil c, pil c, markør c
• Esperanto: kursoro sg
• Finnish: kohdistin (fi), kursori (fi)
• German: Schreibmarke f
• Greek: δρομέας (el) m (droméas), δείκτης (el) m (deíktis)
• Hebrew: סַמָּן (he) m (samán)
• Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
• Icelandic: bendill (is) m, (mouse cursor) músarbendill m
• Italian: puntatore m, cursore (it) m
• Japanese: カーソル (ja) (kāsoru)
• Kazakh: меңзер (meŋzer)
• Korean: 커서 (ko) (keoseo)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: markør m

  Nynorsk: markør m

• Polish: kursor (pl) m
• Romanian: cursor (ro) n
• Russian: курсо́р (ru) m (kursór), каре́тка (ru) f (karétka)
• Slovene: kurzor m
• Spanish: cursor m
• Swedish: markör (sv) c, insättningspunkt c
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Tibetan: འོད་རྟགས ('od rtags, literally “light-sign”)
• Ukrainian: курсо́р (uk) m (kursór)
• Vietnamese: con nháy
• Welsh: cyrchwr m

database: reference to a row

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 指標 / 指标 (zh) (zhǐbiāo)

• Esperanto: kursoro sg
• Icelandic: bendir (is) m
• Russian: курсо́р (ru) m (kursór)
• Spanish: cursor m

programming: iterator pattern

• Finnish: kohdistin (fi), iteraattori (fi)
• Russian: курсо́р (ru) m (kursór)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} مُؤَشِّر m (muʔaššir)
• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} bendill (is) m
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} cursore (it) m
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} imleç (tr)

Verb

cursor (third-person singular simple present cursors, present participle cursoring, simple past and past participle cursored)

1. (intransitive, computing) To navigate by means of the cursor keys.
   • 1990 May 28, InfoWorld, volume 12, number 22:

     The only other problem is that there's a nagging tendency for the highlight to overrun when cursoring through file lists.

See also

• electronic display
• GUI
• pointer

Anagrams

• Curros

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ḱers-

Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥séti

Proto-Italic *korsō

Latin currō

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -sor

Latin cursor

From currō (“run”) + -sor.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈkʊr.sɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈkur.sor]

Noun

cursor m (genitive cursōris, feminine cursrīx); third declension

1. a runner, racer
2. a courier, messenger, post
3. a slave, who ran before the chariot of a grandee, forerunner

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	cursor	cursōrēs
genitive	cursōris	cursōrum
dative	cursōrī	cursōribus
accusative	cursōrem	cursōrēs
ablative	cursōre	cursōribus
vocative	cursor	cursōrēs

Related terms

• currāx
• curriculum
• currīlis
• currō
• currūlis
• currus
• cursātiō
• cursilitās
• cursim
• cursiō
• cursitātiō
• cursitō
• cursō
• cursōrius
• cursuālis
• cursūra
• cursus

Descendants

• → English: cursor
• → French: curseur
  • → Romanian: cursor
• → Italian: cursore
• → Norman: curseu (Jersey)
• → Portuguese: cursor
• → Spanish: cursor

References

• “cursor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "cursor", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “cursor”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “cursor”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “cursor”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ḱers-

Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥séti

Proto-Italic *korsō

Latin currō

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -sor

Latin cursōremlbor.

Portuguese cursor

Learned borrowing from Latin cursōrem.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kuʁˈsoʁ/ [kuhˈsoh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kuʁˈsoʁ/ [kuhˈsoh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /kuɾˈsoɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /kuʁˈsoʁ/ [kuχˈsoχ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /kuɻˈsoɻ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kuɾˈsoɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kuɾˈsoɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /kuɾˈso.ɾi/

Noun

cursor m (plural cursores)

1. cursor (part of scientific instruments that indicates a value or position)
2. (graphical user interface) cursor (icon representing the position of a pointing device)

Related terms

• correr
• cursivo
• curso

Further reading

• “cursor”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “cursor”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French curseur.

Noun

cursor n (plural cursoare)

1. cursor

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	cursor	cursorul	cursoare	cursoarele
genitive-dative	cursor	cursorului	cursoare	cursoarelor
vocative	cursorule		cursoarelor

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ḱers-

Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥séti

Proto-Italic *korsō

Latin currō

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -sor

Latin cursōremlbor.

Spanish cursor

Learned borrowing from Latin cursōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kuɾˈsoɾ/ [kuɾˈsoɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: cur‧sor

Noun

cursor m (plural cursores)

1. (computing) cursor

   Synonym: puntero

Related terms

• correr
• cursivo
• curso

Further reading

• “cursor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026