curtailment
Use Curtailment in a sentence
verb (used with object)
to cut short; cut off a part of; abridge; reduce; diminish.
Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English curtailen to restrict (said of royal succession or inheritance), probably a conflation of Middle French courtau(l)d (see curtal) and Middle English taillen to cut (see taille, tailor)
1425–75; late Middle English curtailen to restrict (said of royal succession or inheritance), probably a conflation of Middle French courtau(l)d (see curtal) and Middle English taillen to cut (see taille, tailor)
Related forms
cur·tailed·ly, adverb
cur·tail·er, noun
cur·tail·ment, noun
non·cur·tail·ing, adjective
non·cur·tail·ment, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To curtailment
00:10
Curtailment
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
curtail (kɜːˈteɪl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| (tr) to cut short; abridge | |
| [C16: changed (through influence of | |
| cur'tailer | |
| —n | |
| cur'tailment | |
| —n | |
| curtail (kɜːˈteɪl) | |
| —vb | |
| (tr) to cut short; abridge | |
| [C16: changed (through influence of | |
| cur'tailer | |
| —n | |
| cur'tailment | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
curtail
late 15c., from M.Fr. courtault "made short," from court "short," from L. curtus (see curt) + -ault pejorative suffix of Gmc. origin. Originally curtal; used of horses with docked tails, which probably influenced the spelling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The criticism is having an effect, and the curtailment of entertainment visas will dent the problem.
But the curtailment of commercial fishing owing to fears over contaminated seafood may hasten the recovery of exploited species.
Others worry about curtailment of freedom of expression.
There must be give on the part of the administration to permit curtailment of the agency's greenhouse gas emissions plan.
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