Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - curia

 noun  (plural ~e)  Etymology: Latin, perhaps from co- + vir man — more at virile  Date: 1600  1.  a. a division of the ancient Roman people comprising several gentes of a tribe  b. the place of assembly of one of these divisions  2.  a. the court of a medieval king  b. a court of justice  3. often capitalized the body of congregations, tribunals, and offices through which the pope governs the Roman Catholic Church  • ~l adjective