CURTAIL


Meaning of CURTAIL in English

v.tr. 1 cut short; reduce; terminate esp. prematurely (curtailed his visit to America). 2 (foll. by of) archaic deprive of. curtailment n.

[ obs. curtal horse with docked tail f. F courtault f. court short f. L curtus: assim. to tail ]

Concise Oxford English dictionary.      Краткий оксфордский словарь английского языка.