definitions

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.

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Nearby words

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for curtal

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