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curtain wall

noun
  1. (in a framed building) an exterior wall having no structural function.
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Origin of curtain wall

First recorded in 1850–55
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for curtain wall

Historical Examples

  • The battlements of the curtain-wall are ornamented in the same manner.

    Account of a Tour in Normandy, Vol. II. (of 2)

    Dawson Turner

  • They reached the foot of the rampart, and by the stairway of a tower that was left unguarded, they mounted onto the curtain-wall.

  • The porter's lodge and curtain-wall enclosing Hulne Priory still stand, and its outline can be traced, though the ruins are scant.

  • Come and see the curtain-wall or whatever it is in the cellars of the Htel de la Poste.

British Dictionary definitions for curtain wall

curtain wall

noun
  1. a non-load-bearing external wall attached to a framed structure, often one that is prefabricated
  2. a low wall outside the outer wall of a castle, serving as a first line of defence
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012