n. & v.
n. 1 a piece of cloth etc. hung up as a screen, usu. moveable sideways or upwards, esp. at a window or between the stage and auditorium of a theatre. 2 Theatr. a the rise or fall of the stage curtain at the beginning or end of an act or scene. b = curtain-call. 3 a partition or cover. 4 (in pl.) sl. the end.
v.tr. 1 furnish or cover with a curtain or curtains. 2 (foll. by off) shut off with a curtain or curtains. curtain-call Theatr. an audience's summons to actor(s) to take a bow after the fall of the curtain. curtain-fire Mil. a concentration of rapid and continuous fire. curtain lecture a wife's private reproof to her husband, orig. behind bed-curtains. curtain-raiser 1 Theatr. a piece prefaced to the main performance. 2 a preliminary event. curtain-wall 1 Fortification the plain wall of a fortified place, connecting two towers etc. 2 Archit. a piece of plain wall not supporting a roof.
[ ME f. OF cortine f. LL cortina transl. Gk aulaia f. aule court ]