curtilage

[kur-tl-ij]

noun

Law.

1. the area of land occupied by a dwelling and its yard and outbuildings, actually enclosed or considered as enclosed.

curtilage

/ ˈkɜːtɪlɪdʒ /

noun

1. the enclosed area of land adjacent to a dwelling house

Word History and Origins

Origin of curtilage¹

1250–1300; Middle English courtelage < Anglo-French; Old French cortillage, equivalent to cortil yard ( cort court + -il diminutive suffix) + -age -age

Word History and Origins

Origin of curtilage¹

C14: from Old French cortillage, from cortil a little yard, from cort _court

Example Sentences

Thousands of people from around the world “walked together” into that book and the mountains it describes, at a time when most of us could go no further than the curtilage of our dwellings.

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The appeals judges wrote that “it is undisputed that Dockery was within the curtilage of defendant’s property — and therefore, within his home … when defendant utilized defensive force against him.”

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A curtilage is the area within the outer boundary of a home’s environs: the patios, yard and driveway.

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But Sotomayor wrote: “Nothing in our case law . . . suggests that the automobile exception gives an officer the right to enter a home or its curtilage to access a vehicle without a warrant.”

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“The question before the court,” she wrote, “is whether the automobile exception justifies the invasion of the curtilage. The answer is no.”

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Related Words

• street