WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Cur"tain (kr"tn; 48)
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [OE.cortin, curtin,fr. OF. cortine, curtine, F. courtine, LL. cortina, curtian (in senses 1 and 2), also, small court, small inclosure surrounded by walls, from cortis court. See Court.]
Definition : 1. A hanging screen intended to darken or conceal, and admitting of being drawn back or up, and reclosed at pleasure; esp., drapery of cloth or lace hanging round a bed or at a window; in theaters, and like places, a movable screen for concealing the stage.

2. (Fort.)

Defn: That part of the rampart and parapet which is between two bastions or two gates. See Illustrations of Ravelin and Bastion.

3. (Arch.)

Defn: That part of a wall of a building which is between two pavilions, towers, etc.

4. A flag; an ensign; -- in contempt. [Obs.] Shak. Behind the curtain, in concealment; in secret. -- Curtain lecture, a querulous lecture given by a wife to her husband within the bed curtains, or in bed. Jerrold. A curtain lecture is worth all the sermons in the world for teaching the virtues of patience and long-suffering. W. Irving. -- The curtain falls, the performance closes. -- The curtain rises, the performance begins. -- To draw the curtain, to close ot over an object, or to remove it; hence: (a) To hide or to disclose an object. (b) To commence or close a performance. -- To drop the curtain, to end the tale, or close the performance.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : Cur"tain
Part of Speech : v.
Definition : Defn: To inclose as with curtains; to furnish with curtains. So when the sun in bed Curtained with cloudy red. Milton.

t. [imp. & p.p. Curtained (-tnd; 48); p. pr. & vb. n. Curtaining.]
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913