[cur.tail] vt [by folk etymology fr. earlier curtal to dock an animal's tail, fr. curtal, n., animal with a docked tail, fr. MF courtault--more at curtal] (1580): to make less by or as if by cutting off or away some part "~ the power of the executive branch" "~ inflation" syn see shorten -- cur.tail.er n
CURTAIL
Meaning of CURTAIL in English
Merriam-Webster English vocab. Английский словарь Merriam Webster. 2012