curtal

[ kur-tl ]

/ ˈkɜr tl /

adjective

Archaic. wearing a short frock: a curtal friar.

Obsolete. brief; curtailed.

noun

a 16th-century bassoon.

Obsolete. an animal with a docked tail.

Words nearby curtal

curtain wall, curtain-raiser, curtain-twitcher, curtains, curtains for, be., curtal, curtal axe, curtalax, curtana, curtate, curtilage

Origin of curtal

1500–10; earlier courtault < Middle French, equivalent to court short (see curt) + -ault, variant of -ald noun suffix; see ribald

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for curtal

Did not Tom Tankard rake his curtal t'o'er day standing in the stable?Gammer.
Gammer Gurton's Needle|Mr. S. Mr. of Art
Curtal, kur′tal, n. a horse with a curt or docked tail: anything docked or cut short.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)|Various
"I am but a poor anchorite, a curtal friar," replied the other, pushing out for his side of the river.
Robin Hood|Paul Creswick
Item, double trottynge hors, called a curtal, for his lordship to ryde on out of townes.
Ten Thousand Wonderful Things|Edmund Fillingham King

Now I may go in and out as I will, being a curtal friar and not now remembered in these parts.
Robin Hood|Paul Creswick

British Dictionary definitions for curtal

curtal

/ (ˈkɜːtəl) obsolete /

adjective

cut short

(of friars) wearing a short frock

noun

an animal whose tail has been docked

something that is cut short

Word Origin for curtal

C16: from Old French courtault animal whose tail has been docked, from court short, from Latin curtus; see curt

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