curtail
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Alteration of curtal, from Old French courtault (“which has been shortened”), itself from court (“short”) (from Latin curtus) + -ault
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Verb
curtail (third-person singular simple present curtails, present participle curtailing, simple past and past participle curtailed) (transitive)
- (obsolete) To cut short the tail of an animal
- Curtailing horses procured long horse-hair.
- To shorten or abridge the duration of something; to truncate.
- When the audience grew restless, the speaker curtailed her speech.
- (figuratively) To limit or restrict, keep in check.
- Their efforts to curtail spending didn't quite succeed.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
to cut short an animal's tail
to shorten or abridge
to limit or restrict
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