English Explanatory Dictionary

curtain

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A piece of cloth covering a window, bed, etc. to offer privacy and keep out light.
  2. A similar piece of cloth that separates the audience and the stage in a theater.
  3. The beginning of a show; the moment the curtain rises.
  4. The flat area of wall which connects two bastions or towers; the main area of a fortified wall.
  5. Death, final curtain.
  6. That part of a wall of a building which is between two pavilions, towers, etc.
  7. A flag; an ensign.
  8. The uninterrupted stream of fluid that falls onto a moving substrate in the process of curtain coating.
verb
  1. To cover (a window) with a curtain; to hang curtains.
  2. To hide, cover or separate as if by a curtain.

Pronunciation

/ˈkɜːtn̩/ En-uk-curtain.ogg /ˈkɜɹt(ə)n/ [ˈkʰɜɹʔn̩] En-us-curtain.ogg

Word forms

curtain curtains curtaining curtained

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English curtine, from Old French cortine, from Late Latin cōrtīna (“curtain”), a calque from Ancient Greek.

Synonyms

becurtain

Related words

blind drape

Derived words

act curtain air curtain bamboo curtain bedcurtain beef curtains behind the curtain blackout curtain bring down the curtain bring the curtain down cafe curtains chin curtain curtain array curtain bangs curtain call curtain coating curtainfic curtain lecture curtainless curtainlike curtain off curtain-raise curtain raiser curtain-raiser curtain ring curtain rod curtain-sider curtainsider curtain time curtain twitcher curtain-twitcher curtainwall curtain wall curtainwise draw the curtains drop curtain encurtain final curtain fortification curtain front curtain front-of-house curtain green curtain house curtain incurtain iron curtain lace-curtain lace curtain main curtain meat curtains net curtain olio curtain precurtain proscenium curtain pull back the curtain pull down the curtain recurtain ring down the curtain ring up the curtain roast beef curtains safety curtain shower curtain
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