curtal
Americanadjective
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Archaic. wearing a short frock.
a curtal friar.
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Obsolete. brief; curtailed.
noun
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a 16th-century bassoon.
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Obsolete. an animal with a docked tail.
adjective
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cut short
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(of friars) wearing a short frock
noun
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an animal whose tail has been docked
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something that is cut short
Etymology
Origin of curtal
1500–10; earlier courtault < Middle French, equivalent to court short ( see curt) + -ault, variant of -ald noun suffix; see ribald
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Tinselled fantasy is shrewdly banished; putty-coloured, sullen fairies slouch along to the hoots and rustles, sackbut and curtal of Claire van Kampen's eerie music.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 8, 2013
"I am but a poor anchorite, a curtal friar," replied the other, pushing out for his side of the river.
From Robin Hood by Wyeth, N. C. (Newell Convers)
That I will do, said the curtal friar, Of thy blasts I have no doubt; I hope thou wilt blow so passing well, Till both thy eyes drop out.
From The Book of Brave Old Ballads by Gilbert, John, Sir
Some blackguard or other, I think it was Sybrandt, said, "A lie is not like a blow with a curtal axe."
From The Cloister and the Hearth by Reade, Charles
I with ‘gallant curtal axe,’ dressed as a youth.
From Valerie by Marryat, Frederick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
