curtainn.1
/ˈkəːtn/, U.S. /ˈkərtn/ 1. 1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure Introd. vi To drawe a curtayne I dare not to presume, Nor hyde my matter with a misty smoke.1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xiii. 77 Make no noise, make no noise, draw the curtains . View more context for this quotation1728 J. Thomson Spring 48 While Evening draws her crimson'd Curtains round.† c. Applied in the Bible to the skins or pieces of cloth with which a tent or tabernacle was hung; the canvas of a tent.
a. A piece of cloth or similar material suspended by the top so as to admit of being withdrawn sideways, and serving as a screen or hanging for purposes of use or ornament; e.g. to enclose a bed (the earliest English use), to separate one part of a room from another, to regulate the admission of light at a window, to prevent draught at a door or other opening, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > covers or hangings > [noun] > hangings > curtain
curtainc1320
riddelc1380
saya1382
serge1382
veilinga1398
traverse1400
veil1567
purdah1621
scene1638
drapes1908
a1186 Robert of Torigni Chron. (Rolls) 292 Cortinæ illæ circa lectum conjugis suæ.]
c1320 Sir Beues 3217 A couertine on raile tre, For noman scholde on his bed ise.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11240 Was þar na pride o couerled, chamber curtin [Gött. curtain, Trin. Cambr. Curteyn; c1460 Laud Curtens] ne tapit.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 854 Þer beddyng watȝ noble Of cortynes of clene sylk wyth cler golde hemmeȝ.
1413 J. Lydgate Pilgr. of Sowle (1483) i. iv. 4 By ouer drawynge of a grete corteyne.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Curtayne aboute a hall.
1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 267 Ane burely bed..Closit with Courtingis, and cumlie cled.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxxiv. 633 The Veyle or Curteine of the Temple did rend asunder.
1607 B. Jonson Volpone v. ii. sig. L3 Ile get vp, Behind the curtine, on a stoole, and hearken. View more context for this quotation
1674 D. Brevint Saul & Samuel 167 A great Cortin, that hanged before our Ladies Image.
1704 London Gaz. No. 4033/4 Lost..3 Damask Window-Curtains.
1712 E. Budgell Spectator No. 313. ¶16 There is a Curtain which used to be drawn across the Room.
1827 O. W. Roberts Narr. Voy. Central Amer. 78 Under the necessity of using mosquito curtains.
b. to draw the curtain: (a) to draw it back or aside, so as to discover what is behind; (b) to draw it forward in front of an object, so as to cover or conceal it. Also figurative.
ΚΠ
1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. xiiii I drawe the curtyns to shewe my bokes then.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. i. 72 Such a man, so faint, so spirritlesse..Drew Priams curtaine in the dead of night. View more context for this quotation
1657 Lusts Dominion i. i. sig. B1v (stage direct.) Eleazar sitting on a chair suddenly draws the curtain.
1709 J. Addison Tatler No. 19. ⁋3 I started up and drew my Curtains to look if any one was near me.
1820 W. Hazlitt Lect. Dramatic Lit. 4 I shall..try to ‘draw the curtain of Time, and shew the picture of Genius’.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > tent > [noun] > material of tents
curtain1382
tenting1887
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Exod. xxvi. 1 The tabernacle forsothe thow shalt make thus; ten curteyns [L. decem cortinas].
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Sam. vii. 2 The Arke of God dwelleth amonge the curtaynes [L. in medio pellium].
1611 Bible (King James) Hab. iii. 7 The curtaines of the land of Midian did tremble. View more context for this quotation
d. Applied variously to hanging pieces of cloth or fabric: as, a veil, an overhanging shade of a bonnet, an ensign. curtain of mail: the piece of chain-mail hanging from the edge of a helmet of the Saracen type; the camail.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > parts of headgear > [noun] > hood or brim to protect face
bongrace1530
shadow1578
curtain1788
shade1818
ugly1850
poke1859
sunshade1868
sun visor1920
visor1939
1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance vi. f. 13 Your predecessors..wolde not be sene of the people but seldome, and oftentimes with a courtayne before theyr visage.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iv. ii. 41 Their ragged Curtaines poorely are let loose, And our Ayre shakes them passing scornefully. View more context for this quotation
1788 E. Sheridan Let. in Betsy Sheridan's Jrnl. (1986) vi. 138 Bonnets I see most generally worn and some with very deep Curtains, The Bonnet itself is small.
1861 C. M. Yonge Stokesley Secret ii. 31 Her lilac-spotted sun-bonnet..with a huge curtain serving for a tippet.
1889 Cent. Mag. Dec. 260/2 When our grandmothers had curtains to their bonnets.
e. plural. A wrinkled effect resembling a draped curtain on a painted or varnished surface. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > condition or preservation of paintings > [noun] > cracking or wrinkling > cracks or wrinkles
craquelure1914
curtains1922
1922 M. Toch How to paint Permanent Pictures 79 A very heavy-bodied Linseed Oil,..was so viscous that it flowed down..and formed ‘curtains’, and teardrops.
1951 R. Mayer Artist's Handbk. (new ed.) iii. 136 Streamlines. The surface defect resembling drops of water running down a window pane is variously known by painters and paint technicians as frilling, curtains, runs, or tears.
1958 Listener 28 Aug. 323/1 Just flow them [sc. jelly paints] on a little more generously... You are not likely to have any trouble with runs or ‘curtains’.
2.
a. In a theatre, etc.: The screen separating the stage from the auditorium, which is drawn up at the beginning and dropped at the end of the play or of a separate act. to call (an actor) before the curtain: to summon him to appear after the curtain falls to mark one's appreciation of his performance. Also in various phrases used figuratively, to drop or raise the curtain, to end or begin an action; the curtain falls, drops, or rises, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > curtain
curtain1598
drop1781
iron curtain1794
green curtain1805
greeny1821
tableau curtain1830
drop-curtain1832
rag1848
hipping1858
cloth1881
safety curtain1881
asbestos curtain1890
olio1923
tab1929
sail curtain1941
iron1951
swag1959
1598 [see Compounds 1a].
1623 W. Drummond Cypresse Groue in Flowres of Sion 73 Euerie one commeth there to act his part of this Tragicomedie called Life, which done, the Courtaine is drawne, and hee remouing is said to dye.
1677 [see sense 2b]. 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 193. ⁋3 I have..been bred up behind the Curtain, and been a Prompter from the Time of the Restoration.
1752 E. Young Brothers v. i No; death lets fall The curtain, and divides our loves for ever.
1768 O. Goldsmith Good Natur'd Man iv. 56 Cro. Perhaps, this very moment the tragedy is beginning. Mrs. Cro. Then let us reserve our distress till the rising of the curtain.
1811 Ld. Byron Hints from Horace 216 The hands of all Applaud in thunder at the curtain's fall.
1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 13 Sept. 5/1 Macready..as Richard III, was the first actor to be summoned before the curtain at Covent Garden.
b. behind the curtain: ‘behind the scenes’, away from the public view.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > privacy > [adverb] > out of public view
out of the way1554
behind the curtain1677
in pectore1679
in petto1712
behind the scenes1841
in (or into, out of) purdah1912
offstage1959
1677 R. Gilpin Dæmonol. Sacra ii. i. 167 To put us in mind, who it is that is at work behind the Curtain, when we see such things acted upon the Stage.
1682 Modest Enq. Election Sheriffs London 26 Some behind the curtain had undoubtedly laid the project.
1763 Ld. Barrington in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. ii. 449 IV. 461 Lord Bute..declares he will not be Minister behind the Curtain, but give up business entirely.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. viii. 631 The circumstances, however, which constituted the real nature of the transaction were only behind the curtain.
c. In various elliptical or allusive uses: (i) = curtain-call n. at Compounds 3; (ii) the finale of a play, act, or scene; also transferred; (iii) = curtain-fall n. at Compounds 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > [noun] > audience reaction
exsibilation1640
call1754
encore1763
goose1805
the big bird1825
recall1851
curtain1884
curtain-call1884
slow burn1936
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > end of play
curtain1884
curtain-fall1900
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > scene > type of scene or act
monologuec1550
monology1608
night scene1683
mad scene1741
drop-scene1815
recognition scene1838
carpenter's-scene1860
scène à faire1884
mob scene1890
sex scene1915
curtain1928
1884 Referee 31 Aug. 3/3 Written in Sand was well received, and Broughton had to ‘take a curtain’.
1885 Referee 15 Mar. 7/3 It is singular, considering how excellently French dramatists write, that they so frequently fail in getting a good ‘curtain’.
1895 G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 29 June 860/2 The doggerel tags before the final curtain.
1897 E. Terry Let. 19 June in E. Terry & G. B. Shaw Corr. (1931) 219 The last week I've dragged myself through that long long part, and toppled down when it was Curtain on Thursday night.
1917 R. Firbank Caprice xii. 102 The other afternoon I ‘offered my services’ and obtained three curtains at a gala matinée.
1919 P. G. Wodehouse My Man Jeeves 146 Curtain of act one on hero..kidnapping the child.
1928 Evening News 7 Aug. 7/3 There were ten curtains after the second act and an enthusiastic reception when the curtain fell.
1928 Daily Tel. 4 Dec. 9/1 ‘Sapper’ gives a decidedly original curtain to his dramatic murder tale ‘The Hidden Witness’.
1965 Listener 9 Sept. 393/1 A lyrical outpouring, leading to a most effective curtain.
d. In plural (also occasionally in singular), the end (cf. sense 2c (iii)). slang.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [noun]
endc1000
endingc1000
finea1300
conclusion1382
ooc1384
close1399
finance1449
terminationc1500
last?1520
winding up1560
wind-up1573
wind-up-all1573
conclusure1578
clause1581
upshot1582
desinence1598
omega1599
Godspeed1606
finis1682
finale1786
finish1790
tie-up1829
Z1877
curtains1912
taps1917
1912 D. Lowrie My Life in Prison vii. 82 There ain't much dope here now, an' it's curtains t' get nailed with it.
1918 P. G. Wodehouse Piccadilly Jim xi. 114 ‘What's wrong?’ ‘Curtains!.. I've been fired.’
1937 C. Day Lewis Starting Point ii. i. 135 I rather fancy potassium cyanide. You just chew a piece, and quick curtain.
1940 N. Monks Squadrons Up! 213 Once he gets the enemy lined up in that ring, it is curtains for the enemy.
1956 A. J. Wallis & C. F. Blair Thunder Above (1959) xii. 131 If the Party ever got on to it..it would be curtains for Kurt.
e. curtain up: the beginning of a performance.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > beginning of play
curtain rise1905
curtain up1942
1942 E. S. L. Robinson Curtain Up 9 The call-boy makes his rounds rapping like Fate at each dressing-room door... ‘Curtain up.’
1968 Guardian 19 Feb. 6/1 Curtain-up is a month away.
1969 ‘S. Troy’ Swift to its Close vi. 90 What are you going to do till curtain-up?
3.
a. transferred and figurative. Anything that covers or hides.
ΚΠ
1430 J. Lydgate tr. Hist. Troy i. v Under curtyn and veyle of honeste Is closed chaunge and mutabilitye.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 411 The fringed Curtaines of thine eye aduance, And say what thou see'st yond. View more context for this quotation
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) III. 141 The moon appeared..enveloped with a cloudy curtain.
1855 A. Bain Senses & Intellect i. ii. 221 The circular curtain called the iris.
1858 H. W. Longfellow Jewish Cemetery in Birds of Passage ii The trees..o'er their sleep wave their broad curtains.
b. Military. (In full curtain of fire, curtain fire.) A concentration of rapid and continuous artillery or machine-gun fire, etc., on a designated line or area, to prevent the advance or retreat of enemy troops, or to clear the way for the combatant's advance. Also, a concentration of fire to block the progress of aircraft.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > [noun] > type of firing
point and blank1590
false fire1602
potting1613
point-blank1614
running fire1629
pounding1633
bulleting1635
platooning1706
sharp-shot1725
street firing1727
ricochet1740
fire curtain1744
plunging fire1747
reverse fire1758
sniping1773
enfilade1796
rapid fire1800
line-firing1802
concentric1804
sharpshooting1806
rake1810
sniping fire1821
cross-firing1837
file-firing1837
curved fire1854
night firing1856
file-fire1857
volley-firing1859
cross-fire1860
joy-firing1864
snap-shooting1872
stringing1873
pot-shooting1874
indirect fire1879
sweeping1907
rapid1913
curtain of fire1916
ripple1939
ripple-firing1940
ripple fire1961
1916 ‘B. Cable’ Action Front 114 Shells began to batter at their parapet, and to prepare a curtain of fire along their front.
1920 D. A. Macalister Field Gunnery (ed. 4) vii. 157 During an attack..the batteries, acting in concert, establish the ‘curtain of fire’ or ‘barrage’.
1922 Encycl. Brit. XXX. 98/2 The idea also was evolved of barrage fire, a curtain of bursting shell to be put up in the path of the raiders.
1943 T. Horsley Find, Fix & Strike 92 We..began our glide through the curtain of lead towards the inner harbour.
c. Short for iron curtain n.; also with capital initial. Also used in similar metaphors, esp. implying restriction of information.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > [noun] > one who or that which hinders > a hindrance, impediment, or obstacle > to spiritual or social union or intercourse
walla1240
curtain1945
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > keeping from knowledge > keeping from publication > [noun] > that which conceals
bushel1557
curtain1945
1945 Sunday Empire News 21 Oct. 2/2 (heading) A curtain across Europe.
1946 Spectator 13 Sept. 257/2 The Russians..would admit their ‘iron curtain’, but pointed out that there was also the Anglo-U.S. ‘uranium curtain’.
1949 Time 14 Mar. 55 The Communist bosses of Peiping dropped a bamboo curtain, cutting off Peiping from the world.
1950 M. Peterson (title) Both sides of the Curtain.
1953 School & Society LXXVIII. 129 (title) The language curtain.
1955 Times 21 July 6/4 The reaction at G.H.Q. East Africa has been to tighten even further its own security curtain.
1970 ‘W. Haggard’ Hardliners iv. 37 A foreigner from behind the Curtain.
4.
a. Fortification. The plain wall of a fortified place; the part of the wall which connects two bastions, towers, gates, or similar structures. complement of the curtain: see complement n. 5f.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > defensive walls > [noun] > wall of fortified town
wallc825
town wallc1325
dikec1400
murayc1400
face1489
curtain?a1560
antemural1614
?a1560 L. Digges Geom. Pract.: Pantometria (1571) i. xxv. sig. Giv v Laders that shall reache from the brym of the ditch or edge of the counterscarfe, to the top of the wal or curtein.
1569 T. Stocker tr. Diodorus Siculus Hist. Successors Alexander i. iv. 9 The towne was well manned..and the curten of suche heigth and thicknes that the besieged with great ease became victors.
1670 C. Cotton tr. G. Girard Hist. Life Duke of Espernon i. iii. 113 They..pass'd within forty paces of the Courtine which play'd upon them all the while.
1760 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy II. xii. 74 The curtin, Sir, is the word we use in fortification, for that part of the wall..which lies between the two bastions.
1871 Daily News 7 Feb. There is a small breach in the curtain of the southern front.
b. Architecture. A plain enclosing wall not supporting a roof.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > [noun] > that which encloses > an enclosing barrier > enclosing wall
walla1400
immurea1616
curtain1633
ring wall1828
curtain wall1859
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > a barrier > [noun] > wall > wall around something
walla1400
curtain1633
ring wall1828
curtain wall1859
1633 J. Done tr. ‘Aristeas’ Aunc. Hist. Septuagint 61 About the same [the temple] is a girt of three Curtaines of Wals raysed in the Ayre, to the height [etc.].
1865 W. G. Palgrave Narr. Journey through Arabia I. 76 A large semicircular curtain..built roughly and unsymmetrically with rubble and coarse blocks.
a1878 G. G. Scott Lect. Mediæval Archit. (1879) I. 59 The wall, in fact (where the system [of attaching buttresses] was carried to its extreme limits), became a mere curtain.
5. Natural History.
a. In mushrooms or fungi: the velum partiale, a marginal veil hanging from the pileus as a shreddy membrane.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > fungi > [noun] > parts of > cells and tissue
chive1721
spawn1731
mushroom spawn1753
volva1753
ring1777
veil1777
curtain1796
wrapper1796
fungin1813
subiculum1821
cortina1832
velum1832
mycelium1836
uterus1836
gleba1847
hypostroma1855
sulcus1856
rhizopod1859
tigellule1860
trichophore1860
hypha1866
hypothecium1866
rhizopodium1866
annulus1871
capillitium1871
acervulus1872
weft1875
capsule1883
clamp-connection1887
periphysis1887
chain gemma1893
trumpet hypha1900
metula1915
monokaryon1935
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) IV. 155 When very young some woolly fibres connect the pileus to the stem in place of a curtain.
1846 Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 2 175 Profusely covered over its pileus, curtain, and stem, with a yellowish powder.
b. In bivalve molluscs: the inner pendent margin of the mantle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Pelecypoda or Conchifera > [noun] > bivalves > parts of
beard1649
hinge1704
cardo1725
palpus1803
disc1810
ligament1816
palp1835
tooth1847
hinge-tooth1851
beak1854
curtain1854
talon1854
resilium1895
hinge-ligament1909
1854 S. P. Woodward Man. Mollusca ii. 260 Animal (of meleagrina) with mantle-lobes united at one point by the gills, their margins fringed and furnished with a pendent curtain; curtains fringed in the branchial region.
6. technical.
a. A partition in the leaden chamber in which sulphurous acid is converted into sulphuric acid.
b. The piece of leather which overlaps the parting of a portmanteau, trunk, etc.
c. In some locks, a circular plate revolving round the keyhole, which closes it up when any instrument is introduced in an attempt to pick the lock.
ΚΠ
1874 in E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) III. 958 These leaden chambers are sometimes divided into 3 or 4 compartments by leaden curtains placed in them..These curtains serve to detain the vapours, and cause them to advance in a gradual manner through the chamber.
d. A contrivance consisting of wooden slats which can be rolled up: spec. one of a number of these used to form a dam or weir. Also attributive, as curtain-dam, curtain-valve, curtain-weir.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > screen > [noun] > other types of
speer1379
traverse1400
transom-lattice1689
blind1730
window blind1730
spire1768
Venetian window-blind1769
window shade1789
tatty1792
tat1810
Japanese screen1872
fusuma1880
curtain1895
mosquito door1929
tuku-tuku1936
fly-wire door1952
table screen1971
the world > the earth > water > lake > pool > [noun] > artificially confined water > contrivance for impounding water > movable slats
curtain1895
1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. Spring & Summer 608/3 Low Curtain Office Desk... Has lap joint, dust and knife proof curtain.
1903 B. F. Thomas & D. A. Watt Improvem. Rivers viii. 244 Curtain Dams... The Caméré curtain..consists of narrow horizontal strips of wood, hinged together, and capable of being rolled up by a chain.
1903 B. F. Thomas & D. A. Watt Improvem. Rivers viii. 253 The space between the two rows [of shutters] was then filled with water by opening curtain-valves.
1927 E. Weymann Dams 586 The curtains are suspended from hooks on the face of the frames.
1929 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 489/1 The curtain weir... In it wooden curtains that can be rolled up from the bottom were substituted for the needles in the Poirée weir.
Compounds
C1. attributive.† b. Done behind the curtains; secret, hidden.
a. Pertaining to a curtain or curtains.
ΚΠ
1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie iii. x. sig. H4 What ere he sayes Is warranted by Curtaine plaudeties.
1881 Daily News 23 Aug. 3/6 In the curtain department an increased business is being done..many curtain machines are still well employed.
1885 Cent. Mag. 29 553/2 A long curtain-calico gown.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > privacy > [adjective]
sundereOE
privyc1300
close1393
private1472
soleinc1475
secret1528
retired1595
implicit1610
cabinet1611
underhanda1616
closet1639
umbratile1640
closeteda1649
curtain1661
recluse1673
snug1710
pocket1804
entre nous1806
underground1820
sub rosa1824
esoterical1850
esoteric1876
1661 E. Hickeringill Jamaica 69 We thunder fear, A toy to th' Curtain-whisper in the Ear.
1673 J. Janeway Heaven upon Earth (1847) 135 He knew..our most secret workings, our closet curtain-business.
C2.
a.
curtain-cord n.
ΚΠ
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxvi Take a small curten corde and bynde it harde about the beestes necke.
1863 A. D. T. Whitney Faith Gartney's Girlhood xvii She drew the curtain-cord to let in the first sunbeam.
1939 T. S. Eliot Old Possum's Bk. Pract. Cats 14 The curtain-cord she likes to wind.
curtain-lifter n.
b.
curtain-like adj.
C3. Also curtain-lecture n., curtain-sermon n. † curtain-coach n. Obsolete a coach with curtains in the window-spaces.
curtain-angle n. the angle formed at a bastion, etc., where the curtain begins.
curtain-call n. a call by an audience for an actor or actors to take a bow after the fall of the curtain (see 2).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > [noun] > audience reaction
exsibilation1640
call1754
encore1763
goose1805
the big bird1825
recall1851
curtain1884
curtain-call1884
slow burn1936
1884 ‘F. Leslie’ Let. 15 July in W. T. Vincent Recoll. F.L. (1893) I. x. 176 You will find a room specially adapted for rehearsing curtain calls.
1909 ‘O. Henry’ Roads of Destiny xxi. 377 Uncle Sam has nine curtain-calls holding Miss Panama by the hand.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 17 Apr. 1/3 Thirty ‘curtain calls’ rewarding play and players.
1919 P. G. Wodehouse Damsel in Distress xii. 144 He felt a wave of stage-fright such as he had only once experienced before in his life—on the occasion when he had been young enough to take a curtain-call on a first-night.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > carriage for conveying persons > [noun] > types of carriage > covered > coach > other types of coach
hanging-waggon1585
glass-coach1667
carriage of respecta1680
shalloon1688
leading coach1704
curtain-coach1706
day coach1784
muddy1800
perch-coach1815
drag1820
1706 London Gaz. No. 4224/3 Three Hackney Glass Coaches..and a very good Curtain Coach to carry 6 People.
curtain-fall n. the fall of the curtain at the end of an act or scene; the situation or tableau when the curtain falls; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > end of play
curtain1884
curtain-fall1900
1900 T. E. Pemberton Kendals ix. 276 He must be forgiven and at curtain-fall live happily ever after.
1904 Westm. Gaz. 30 Mar. 4/2 The sad curtain-fall of universal commonplace.
1907 Westm. Gaz. 10 June 3/1 Pride..forbids him to propose until close on the final curtain-fall.
1909 Daily Chron. 26 Jan. 5/6 ‘A Merry Christmas!’ he shouts light-heartedly at curtain-fall.
1962 Times 27 Nov. 14/7 Within the confines of curtain-rise and curtain-fall.
curtain hook n. any of a number of hooks that may be attached to a curtain in order to hook it on to curtain rings or to a curtain rail.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > covers or hangings > [noun] > hangings > curtain > curtain fittings
ringa1382
curtain-ring1483
curtain hookc1505
curtain-rodc1505
window pole1822
curtain-pole1865
curtain rail1924
glider1957
track1971
c1505Curtain hook [see curtain-rod n.].
1898 D. C. Peel New Home xiv. 237 Curtain-hooks..should be button-holed on with waxed thread.
1982 H. O'Leary Curtains & Blinds i. 16 Curtain hooks are attached to the curtain heading and then inserted through runners or gliders on the curtain track.
curtain line n. the last line of a play, act, or scene; also transferred.
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society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > words spoken by actors > types of
cue1553
anteloquy1623
aside1728
catchword1755
side soliloquy1842
gag1847
gravy1864
fluff1891
laugh line1913
rhubarb1919
curtain line1939
walla1949
1939 D. L. Sayers In Teeth of Evidence 200 ‘I will rest on my laurels’—that was a beautiful curtain line you gave him there.
1959 Listener 31 Dec. 1171/2 Conversations [in a novel] end with brave, ringing curtain lines.
curtain-paper n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Curtain-paper, a peculiar kind of paper-hangings made in the Western States of America..used as substitutes for roller blinds by a large class of people.
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Curtain-paper, a heavy paper, printed and otherwise ornamented, for window-shades.
curtain-pole n. = curtain-rod n.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > covers or hangings > [noun] > hangings > curtain > curtain fittings
ringa1382
curtain-ring1483
curtain hookc1505
curtain-rodc1505
window pole1822
curtain-pole1865
curtain rail1924
glider1957
track1971
1865 ‘G. Eliot’ in Fortn. Rev. May 45 Unctuous personages..who soar above the curtain-poles without any broomstick.
1908 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 117. 880/1 Heavy brass curtain pole rings.
curtain rail n. = curtain-rod n.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > covers or hangings > [noun] > hangings > curtain > curtain fittings
ringa1382
curtain-ring1483
curtain hookc1505
curtain-rodc1505
window pole1822
curtain-pole1865
curtain rail1924
glider1957
track1971
1924 Cabinet Maker 5 July Suppl. p. xlv. (advt.) The [Arthur Clay] ball bearing curtain rail.
1982 H. O'Leary Curtains & Blinds i. 15 (heading) Curtain tracks and rails.
curtain-raiser n. originally slang a short opening piece performed before the principal play of the evening (cf. lever de rideau n.); also transferred.
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society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > [noun] > a theatrical production > curtain-raiser
fore-piece1814
lever de rideau1860
curtain-raiser1886
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > performance before or after play
afterpiece1770
curtain-raiser1886
curtain jerker1892
1886 Birmingham Weekly Mercury 23 Oct. 5 The slight opening pieces, or ‘curtain raisers’ as they are profanely styled..are often hurried through amid much confusion.
1892 Leeds Mercury 1 Apr. 5/3 A new piece..put on as a curtain-raiser for ‘Lady Windermere's Fan’.
1940 War Illustr. 26 Jan. 24 What has happened to date is the curtain-raiser to that aerial blitzkrieg which is still part of the stock-in-trade of the Nazi boasters.
1955 Times 27 July 2/6 There was a curtain raiser earlier this month when the case was put that the proposed scheme was ultra vires.
1969 Australian 24 May 36/6 The three Australian selectors..will watch Sydney Seconds..in the curtain-raiser before focusing on the main game.
curtain-ring n. one of the rings by which a curtain is hung on the curtain rod, and which slide on the rod when the curtain is drawn.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > covers or hangings > [noun] > hangings > curtain > curtain fittings
ringa1382
curtain-ring1483
curtain hookc1505
curtain-rodc1505
window pole1822
curtain-pole1865
curtain rail1924
glider1957
track1971
1483 Act 1 Rich. III c. 12 §2 No Merchant Stranger..shall bring into this Realm..Hanging Lavers, Curtain-rings, Cards for Wooll.
1719 in T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth III. 123 I'll rattle his Curtain-Rings every Night.
curtain rise n. the rise of the curtain at the beginning of an act or scene.
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society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > beginning of play
curtain rise1905
curtain up1942
1905 Daily Chron. 11 Feb. 6/2 Miss Tree sings, at curtain-rise, to very charming purpose.
1962Curtain-rise [see curtain-fall n.]. curtain-rod n. the horizontal rod from which a curtain is suspended.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > covers or hangings > [noun] > hangings > curtain > curtain fittings
ringa1382
curtain-ring1483
curtain hookc1505
curtain-rodc1505
window pole1822
curtain-pole1865
curtain rail1924
glider1957
track1971
c1505 Churchwardens' Accts. St. Dunstan's, Canterb. For curten roddis and hookys.
1792 J. Wolcot Ode to Margate Hoy in Wks. (1812) III. 65 With fingers..loaded much like Curtain-rods with Rings.
curtain wall n. (a) see sense 4b (b) see quot. 1901.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > wall of building > [noun] > other specific types of wall
firewall?1666
truss-partition1823
bearing wall1833
sleeper wall1845
curtain wall1859
fender wall1894
cavity wall1910
apron wall1934
storage wall1945
spine wall1949
curtain walling1958
sleeper walling1971
Trombe1978
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > [noun] > that which encloses > an enclosing barrier > enclosing wall
walla1400
immurea1616
curtain1633
ring wall1828
curtain wall1859
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > a barrier > [noun] > wall > wall around something
walla1400
curtain1633
ring wall1828
curtain wall1859
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > a barrier > [noun] > wall > other types of wall
sidewall1381
brick wall1465
outwall1535
parpen1591
parapet1598
inwall?1611
breastwork1673
parapet wall1682
dwarf1718
screen1761
screen wall1770
hollow wall1823
alure1853
curtain wall1859
core-wall1899
blank wall1904
1859 J. H. Parker Some Acct. Domest. Archit. IV. vii. 226 A curtain wall connecting it.
a1878 G. G. Scott Lect. Mediæval Archit. (1879) I. 250 As buttresses increased in projection, greater and greater openings in the curtain wall were ventured on.
1901 R. Sturgis Dict. Archit. I. 731 Curtain wall. In modern construction, most often a thin subordinate wall between two piers or other supporting members; the curtain being primarily a filling and having no share—or but little—in the support of other portions of the structure. Thus, in skeleton construction, curtain walls are built between each two encased columns and..on a girder at each floor level.
1930 Engineering 1 Aug. 131/3 The curtain wall [of the Welland Ship Canal] is 3 ft. 6 in. thick and set back 10 ft. 6 in. from the upstream face.
1950 Archit. Rev. 107 221 On the ground (banking floor) these curtain walls are of glass blocks to give the maximum light without permitting passers-by to see inside.
1952 Archit. Rev. 112 392 ‘Curtain wall’ is a recent American term for a form of rigid skin walling. It is basically an extension of sheet cladding to cover wider spans... In a more developed form it includes the growing practice, particularly on slab blocks, of covering a complete elevation with subsidiary framing holding both cladding and windows.
curtain-walled adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > building of specific construction > [adjective]
wandedc1593
brick-built1596
rock-built1596
mud-walled1607
sedgy1624
sodden1639
nogged1688
frame1760
logged1784
stucco1786
weatherboarded1794
piled1795
thick-walled1820
clapboarded1835
board-built1837
pebble-dashed1839
puncheoned1843
timber-framed1843
betimbered1847
pile-built1851
massy1855
bamboo-walled1858
portable1860
half-timber1874
stone-faced1874
Red River frame1879
ashlared1881
granolithic1881
brick-end1883
converted1888
steel frame1898
board-and-bat1902
traviated1902
steel-framed1906
prefabricated1921
prefab1937
multiwall1940
pre-engineered1955
curtain-walled1959
pre-fabbed1959
timber-frame1967
system-built1968
flat-pack1982
1959 Listener 3 Dec. 976/2 Curtain-walled office-blocks.
curtain walling n.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > wall of building > [noun] > other specific types of wall
firewall?1666
truss-partition1823
bearing wall1833
sleeper wall1845
curtain wall1859
fender wall1894
cavity wall1910
apron wall1934
storage wall1945
spine wall1949
curtain walling1958
sleeper walling1971
Trombe1978
1958 Archit. Rev. Jan. 7 The increasing use of curtain walling and similar systems.
1963 Listener 28 Feb. 371/1 Curtain walling has made it possible to turn the whole facade into a huge shiny texture.
1963 Listener 28 Feb. 371/2 Curtain walling is being used to create simple geometric form at the expense of the spaces behind.
Draft additions June 2014
curtain-sided adj. (of a vehicle) having curtains or curtain-like material at the sides; spec. (of a lorry or trailer) having sides made from a strengthened and flexible material that can be drawn and opened like a pair of curtains.In quot. 1914 referring to a railway Pullman car.
ΚΠ
1914 Everybody's Mag. Apr. 486/2 Friendliness and brotherly love are beautiful things; but it seems extravagant to undress and dress again in a narrow, curtain-sided box merely for the sake of the satisfaction of being able to hear your neighbor snore.
1961 M. Sandoz Love Song to Plains (1966) v. 99 That year Smith, Jackson and Sublette started out with..two Dearborns—curtain-sided carriages drawn by one mule apiece.
1970 Financial Times 6 Jan. 9/7 The Tautliner curtain sided semi-trailer is designed to give almost the same protection in transit as a box van.
2011 Daily Tel. 11 Mar. 2/1 The curtain-sided lorry toppled over a bridge.
curtain sider n. a curtain-sided lorry or trailer.
ΚΠ
1979 Financial Times 12 Nov. 15/3 One of the vehicles is a 40 feet long curtain-sider semi-trailer.
1993 Sun Herald (Sydney) (Nexis) 17 Oct. 62 He took about half an hour to clean a truck with a sponge. Sometimes he hired trestles to clean curtain-siders.
2005 Irish Examiner 29 Aug. 34/2 (advt.) Commercial Vehicles... '96 Scania 113, 360hp, mot, curtain sider, tail lift.
Draft additions June 2019
curtain jerker n. a performance, game, or (now chiefly) fight that takes place before the main event, esp. as the first event on the bill; a curtain-raiser; (also) a person who regularly takes part in such lower-profile events (often derogatory).Now chiefly in the context of professional wrestling.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > performance before or after play
afterpiece1770
curtain-raiser1886
curtain jerker1892
society > leisure > sport > match or competition > [noun] > types of
all comersc1450
after-gamea1500
fore-game1594
revenge1616
plate1639
set-to1743
return match1753
bye1754
scrub-race1791
anybody's game (also race, match)1826
return1834
barney1843
bonspiel1858
handicap1861
pennant1865
home-and-home1868
benefit match1871
run-off1873
international1877
American tournament1878
Grand Prix1879
single1884
friendly1885
all-comers1889
pair1890
championship1893
round robin1894
replay1895
Olympiad1896
junior varsity1902
lightning tournament1903
rematch1903
road trip1903
pickup1905
freestyle1906
marathon1908
test1908
Derby1909
scrimmage1910
eliminator1911
twosome1911
triala1914
quadrangular1916
slug-fest1916
varsity match1921
needle contest1922
curtain jerker1923
needle match1923
open1926
needle fight1927
knock-out1928
shirt1930
masters1933
pro-amateur1934
tune-up1934
World Cup1934
pro-am1937
state1941
sizzler1942
runathon1943
mismatch1954
run-out1955
match-up1959
squeaker1961
triple-header1961
Super Bowl1967
invitational1968
needle game1970
major1976
slobberknocker1986
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > wrestling > [noun] > wrestler > types of
sumo1864
sumotori1884
ozeki1892
sumo1893
yokozuna1894
rikishi1907
mud-wrestler1936
baby face1948
luchador1953
heel1958
wrist-wrestler1978
face1998
curtain jerker1999
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > wrestling > [noun] > bout > type of
catchweight1723
mud-wrestle1938
arm wrestle1939
death match1958
curtain jerker2018
1892 Era 23 Apr. 24/5 Eight songs per night for two weeks unassisted by a ‘curtain jerker’.
1923 Greensburg (Indiana) Daily News 8 Feb. 1/5 Week-end sport activities center around the two Shelbyville basket ball games... A good curtain jerker has been arranged for the eve.
1999 M. Foley Mankind, have Nice Day! xxxiv. 409 Wow, I went from being a curtain jerker to wrestling one of the top guys in the business—with one phone call.
2018 @B_inShortsville 10 Nov. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) #UFCDenver Great fight in the curtain-jerker.
Draft additions June 2019
curtain-twitcher n. colloquial (chiefly British) a person who observes other people's activities from his or her window, esp. in a furtive and prying manner; a nosy neighbour.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > [noun] > impertinent curiosity, prying > action of prying > person engaged in
pryer1552
peeper1607
poker1608
Paul Pry1826
snooper1889
nosy parker1896
stickybeak1917
nosy1931
curtain-twitcher1940
prodnose1965
1940 ‘M. na gCopaleen’ in Irish Times 17 Dec. (City ed.) 6/3 Bean fuinneoige, a curtain-twitcher, a gossip, a tell-tale, a Pauline Pry.
1996 C. Brookmyre Quite Ugly One Morning xviii. 115 Morag Kinross wasn't a nosy person. She was no curtain-twitcher, like many round here.
2018 Tel. & Argus (Bradford) (Nexis) 12 Apr. We're said to be a nation of curtain-twitchers, and new research reveals the lengths Brits go to spy on their neighbours.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
curtainn.2
/ˈkəːtn/, U.S. /ˈkərtn/ = courtin n.
ΚΠ
1853 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 14 ii. 316 The cattle are kept in open curtains with shedding, each curtain containing from 8 to 12 animals.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
curtainv.
/ˈkəːtn/, U.S. /ˈkərtn/ a. To furnish, surround, cover, adorn, with a curtain or curtains.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > covers or hangings > [verb (transitive)] > cover or furnish with hangings > with curtains
curtainc1300
encurtain1393
stent1512
teld1825
c1300 K. Alis. 1028 With samytes, and baudekyns, Weore cortined the gardynes.
c1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1181 G. þe god mon, in gay bed lygez..Vnder couertour ful clere, cortyned aboute.
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads v. 199 Eleven fair chariots stay..Curtain'd and arrast under foot.
1828 W. Scott Tapestr. Chamb. The tapestry hangings, which..curtained the walls of the little chamber.
b. transferred and figurative. To cover, conceal, veil, protect, shut off, as with a curtain.
ΚΠ
c1430 J. Lydgate tr. Bochas Fall of Princes viii. xxiv Some skyes donne Myght percase curtayne his beames clere.
1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. iii. 24 When with a happie storme they were surprisde, And curtaind with a counsaile-keeping Caue. View more context for this quotation
1607 T. Walkington Optick Glasse ii. sig. C3v Curtained and ouer-shadowed with a palpable darkenesse.
1861 ‘G. Eliot’ Silas Marner xii. 217 A supreme immediate longing that curtained off all futurity—the longing to lie down and sleep.
Derivatives
ˈcurtained adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > covers or hangings > [adjective] > having hangings > having curtains
curtained1836
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) ii. i. 51 Wicked Dreames abuse The Curtain'd sleepe. View more context for this quotation
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. I. 5 The churchwardens..duly installed in their curtained pews.
ˈcurtaining n. and adj. (spec. colloquial in Painting) the formation of ‘curtains’: see curtain n.1 1e.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > condition or preservation of paintings > [noun] > cracking or wrinkling
alligatoring1904
crocodiling1932
curtaining1940
1820 J. Keats Lamia ii, in Lamia & Other Poems 28 Near to a curtaining Whose airy texture, from a golden string, Floated into the room.
1883 Harper's Mag. Jan. 196/1 A sudden escape from curtaining oak branches brought us full upon the summit.
1940 in Chambers's Techn. Dict. 217/1.
1953 in Gloss. Paint. Terms (B.S.I.) ii.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1c1320
n.21853
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