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Curfew

 - 3 dictionary results

cur⋅few

  [kur-fyoo]
Use Curfew in a Sentence
–noun
1. an order establishing a specific time in the evening after which certain regulations apply, esp. that no civilians or other specified group of unauthorized persons may be outdoors or that places of public assembly must be closed.
2. a regulation requiring a person to be home at a certain prescribed time, as imposed by a parent on a child.
3. the time at which a daily curfew starts.
4. the period during which a curfew is in effect.
5. a signal, usually made with a bell, announcing the start of the time of restrictions under a curfew.
6. a bell for sounding a curfew.
7. (in medieval Europe) the ringing of a bell at a fixed hour in the evening as a signal for covering or extinguishing fires.
8. a metal cover for shielding a banked or unattended fire.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < AF coverfeu, OF covrefeu lit., (it) covers (the) fire. See cover, focus
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Curfew
cur·few   (kûr'fyōō)   
n.  

  1. A regulation requiring certain or all people to leave the streets or be at home at a prescribed hour.

    1. The time at which such a restriction begins or is in effect: a 10 P.M. curfew for all residents.

    2. The signal, such as a bell, announcing the beginning of this restriction.


[Middle English curfeu, from Old French cuevrefeu : covrir, to cover; see cover + feu, fire (from Latin focus, hearth).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

curfew 
c.1320, from Anglo-Fr. coeverfu (1285), from O.Fr. covrefeu, lit. "cover fire," from couvre, imper. of couvrir "to cover" + feu "fire." The medieval practice of ringing a bell at fixed time in the evening as an order to bank the hearths and prepare for sleep. The original purpose was to prevent conflagrations from untended fires. The modern extended sense of "periodic restriction of movement" had evolved by 1800s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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