curt

n. The scroll termination of any architectural member, as of a step, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Curtailed p. pr. & vb. n. Curtailing. ] [ See Curtal. ] To cut off the end or tail, or any part, of; to shorten; to abridge; to diminish; to reduce. [ 1913 Webster ]

I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our incomes have been curtailed; his salary has been doubled. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

A dog with a docked tail; formerly, the dog of a person not qualified to course, which, by the forest laws, must have its tail cut short, partly as a mark, and partly from a notion that the tail is necessary to a dog in running; hence, a dog not fit for sporting. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hope is a curtail dog in some affairs. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who curtails. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act or result of curtailing or cutting off. Bancroft. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE.cortin, curtin, fr. OF. cortine, curtine, F. courtine, LL. cortina, curtian (in senses 1 and 2), also, small court, small inclosure surrounded by walls, from cortis court. See Court. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A hanging screen intended to darken or conceal, and admitting of being drawn back or up, and reclosed at pleasure; esp., drapery of cloth or lace hanging round a bed or at a window; in theaters, and like places, a movable screen for concealing the stage. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Fort.) That part of the rampart and parapet which is between two bastions or two gates. See Illustrations of Ravelin and Bastion. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Arch.) That part of a wall of a building which is between two pavilions, towers, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A flag; an ensign; -- in contempt. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Behind the curtain, in concealment; in secret. --
Curtain lecture, a querulous lecture given by a wife to her husband within the bed curtains, or in bed. Jerrold. [ 1913 Webster ] A curtain lecture is worth all the sermons in the world for teaching the virtues of patience and long-suffering. W. Irving. --
The curtain falls, the performance closes. --
The curtain rises, the performance begins. --
To draw the curtain, to close it over an object, or to remove it; hence: (a) To hide or to disclose an object. (b) To commence or close a performance. --
To drop the curtain, to end the tale, or close the performance. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Curtained p. pr. & vb. n. Curtaining. ] To inclose as with curtains; to furnish with curtains. [ 1913 Webster ]

So when the sun in bed
Curtained with cloudy red. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. furnished or concealed with curtains or draperies; as, a curtained alcove. Opposite of curtainless. [ WordNet 1.5 ]