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Synonyms

curtana

British  
/ kɜːˈtɑːnə /

noun

  1. the unpointed sword carried before an English sovereign at a coronation as an emblem of mercy

"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

Etymology

Origin of curtana

C15: from Anglo-Latin, from Old French cortain, the name of Roland's sword, which was broken at the point, ultimately from Latin curtus short

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.

Richard III., and Henry VII.; and among the royal arms of Edward VI. we read of "a swerde called curtana."

From Notes and Queries, Number 23, April 6, 1850 by Various

Under an arch of triumph Bloom appears, bareheaded, in a crimson velvet mantle trimmed with ermine, bearing Saint Edward's staff the orb and sceptre with the dove, the curtana.

From Ulysses by Joyce, James

The name of curtana for many ages continued to be given to the first royal sword in England.

From Notes and Queries, Number 23, April 6, 1850 by Various

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.