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.
Phrases and idioms:
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.
Etymology: ME f. OF cortine f. LL cortina transl. Gk aulaia f. aule court