curtain

[ kur-tn ]
/ ˈkɜr tn /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR curtain ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

verb (used with object)

to provide, shut off, conceal, or adorn with, or as if with, a curtain.

Idioms for curtain

    draw the curtain on/over,
    1. to bring to a close: to draw the curtain on a long career of public service.
    2. to keep secret.
    lift the curtain on,
    1. to commence; start.
    2. to make known or public; disclose: to lift the curtain on a new scientific discovery.

Origin of curtain

1250–1300; Middle English co(u)rtine < Anglo-French, Old French < Late Latin cortīna, probably equivalent to co(ho)rt- (stem of cohors; see court) + -īna -ine1, as calque of Greek aulaía curtain, derivative of aulḗ courtyard

synonym study for curtain

1, 3. Curtain, blind, shade, shutter agree in being covers for a window, to shut out light or keep persons from looking in. Curtain, blind, and shade may mean a cover, usually of cloth, which can be rolled up and down inside the window. Curtain, however, may also refer to a drapery at a window; and a Venetian blind consists of slats mounted on tapes for drawing up or down and varying the pitch of the slats. Blind and shutter may mean a cover made of two wooden frames with movable slats, attached by hinges outside a window and pulled together or opened at will. Shutters may mean also a set of panels (wooden or iron) put up outside small shops or stores at closing time

regional variation note for curtain

3. See window shade.

OTHER WORDS FROM curtain

cur·tain·less, adjective un·cur·tained, adjective

Words nearby curtain

cursory, curst, curt, curtail, curtail step, curtain, curtain call, curtain lecture, curtain line, curtain raiser, curtain shutter

Words related to curtains

extinction, death, exit

Example sentences from the Web for curtains

British Dictionary definitions for curtains (1 of 2)

curtains
/ (ˈkɜːtənz) /

pl n

informal death or ruin; the end if the enemy see us it will be curtains for us
a hairstyle in which the hair is parted in the centre of the forehead and curved out over the temples

British Dictionary definitions for curtains (2 of 2)

curtain
/ (ˈkɜːtən) /

noun

verb

(tr sometimes foll by off) to shut off or conceal with or as if with a curtain
(tr) to provide (a window, etc) with curtains
See also curtains

Word Origin for curtain

C13: from Old French courtine, from Late Latin cortīna enclosed place, curtain, probably from Latin cohors courtyard

Idioms and Phrases with curtains

curtain