curfew

English

WOTD – 3 October 2009

Alternative forms

• cover-few (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English curfu, from Old French cuevre-fu (French couvre-feu), from the imperative of covrir (“to cover”) + fu (“fire”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɜː.fjuː/
• IPA^(key): /ˈkɝ.fju/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Noun

curfew (plural curfews)

1. Any regulation requiring people to be off the streets and in their homes by a certain time.
   • 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "Hurricane Sandy," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):

     Localities across New Jersey imposed curfews to prevent looting. In Monmouth, Ocean and other counties, people waited for hours for gasoline at the few stations that had electricity. Supermarket shelves were stripped bare.

2. The time when such restriction begins.
3. A signal indicating this time.
4. A fireplace accessory designed to bank a fire by completely covering the embers.
5. (historical) A regulation in feudal Europe by which fires had to be covered up or put out at a certain fixed time in the evening, marked by the ringing of an evening bell.
6. The evening bell, which continued to be rung in many towns after the regulation itself became obsolete.
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, translated by John Florio, The Essayes […], London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
     , Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.95:

     I have my lodging neere unto a tower, where both evening and morning a very great bell doth chime Ave marie and Cover-few, which jangling doth even make the tower to shake […].

Derived terms

• curfew pass

Translations

regulation requiring people to be off the streets and in their homes by a certain time

• Afrikaans: aandklok
• Arabic: مَنْعُ التَّجَوُّل m (manʕu t-tajawwul), حَظْرُ التَّجَوُّل m (ḥaẓru t-tajawwul)
• Armenian: պարետային ժամ (hy) (paretayin žam)
• Azerbaijani: komendant saatı
• Belarusian: каменда́нцкая гадзі́на f (kamjendánckaja hadzína)
• Bulgarian: полице́йски час m (policéjski čas), вече́рен час m (večéren čas)
• Catalan: toc de queda (ca) m, cobrefoc (ca) m
• Chechen: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 宵禁 (zh) (xiāojìn), 門禁／门禁 (zh) (ménjìn), 门禁 (zh) (ménjìn)

• Czech: zákaz vycházení m
• Danish: udgangsforbud (da) n
• Dutch: avondklok (nl) f, uitgaansverbod (nl) n
• Esperanto: elirmalpermeso
• Estonian: liikumiskeeld
• Faroese: útigongubann n, útfaringarbann n
• Finnish: ulkonaliikkumiskielto (fi)
• French: couvre-feu (fr) m
• Galician: toque de queda m
• Georgian: კომენდანტის საათი (ḳomendanṭis saati)
• German: Ausgangssperre (de) f, Ausgehverbot n
• Greek: απαγόρευση κυκλοφορίας f (apagórefsi kykloforías)
• Hebrew: עוצר \ עֹצֶר m ('ótser)
• Hindi: करफ़्यू m (karafyū)
• Hungarian: kijárási tilalom (hu)
• Icelandic: útgöngubann n
• Indonesian: jam malam (id)
• Italian: coprifuoco (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 戒厳令 (ja) (かいげんれい, kaigenrei), 外出禁止令 (がいしゅつきんしれい, gaishutsu kinshirei), 夜間外出禁止令 (やかんがいしゅつきんしれい, yakan gaishutsu kinshirei) (night time)
• Khmer: ខណ្ឌ (km) (khan)
• Korean: 통행금지령(通行禁止令) (tonghaenggeumjiryeong), 외출금지령(外出禁止令) (oechulgeumjiryeong), 통금(通禁) (tonggeum)
• Latvian: policijas stunda f, komandanta stunda f, komandantstunda f
• Lithuanian: komendanto valanda f
• Macedonian: полициски час m (policiski čas)
• Maori: rāhui haere pō, wā rāhui
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: portforbud (no) n

  Nynorsk: portforbod n

• Papiamentu: toke de keda
• Persian: ^{(please verify)} حکومت نظامی (fa) (hokumat nezâmi)
• Polish: godzina policyjna (pl) f
• Portuguese: toque de recolher (pt) m
• Romanian: interdicție de ieșire din casă f
• Russian: коменда́нтский час (ru) m (komendántskij čas)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: полицијски сат m, полицијски час m

  Roman: policijski sat m, policijski čas m

• Slovak: zákaz vychádzania m
• Slovene: policijska ura (sl) f
• Spanish: toque de queda (es), cubrefuego m
• Swedish: utegångsförbud (sv) n
• Thai: เคอร์ฟิว (th) (kəə-fiu)
• Turkish: sokağa çıkma yasağı
• Ukrainian: коменда́нтська годи́на f (komendántsʹka hodýna)
• Uzbek: komendant soati
• Vietnamese: lệnh (vi) giới nghiêm (vi)

time when such restriction begins

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: պարետային ժամ (hy) (paretayin žam)
• Catalan: toc de queda (ca) m
• Danish: spærretid c
• Dutch: avondklok (nl) f, spertijd (nl) m
• Finnish: ulkonaliikkumiskiellon alkamisaika
• German: Sperrstunde (de) f
• Italian: coprifuoco (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 門限 (もんげん, mongen)
• Korean: 문한(門限) (ko) (munhan)
• Latvian: policijas stunda f, komandanta stunda f, komandantstunda f
• Romanian: oră de interdicție f
• Russian: коменда́нтский час (ru) m (komendántskij čas)
• Spanish: toque de queda (es) m
• Vietnamese: lúc (vi) giới nghiêm (vi)

signal indicating this time

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: toc de queda (ca) m
• Finnish: ulkonaliikkumiskiellon merkki
• French: couvre-feu (fr) m
• German: Zapfenstreich (de) m (military)
• Hindi: करफ़्यू m (karafyū)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: coprifuoco (it) m
• Portuguese: toque de recolher (pt) m
• Romanian: semnal de stingere, tocsin (ro)
• Spanish: toque de queda (es) m

fire accessory

• Finnish: tulen peittävä suojus
• French: couvre-feu (fr) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

historical regulation requiring fire to be covered/extinguished

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: вече́рен час m (večéren čas)
• Finnish: määräys sammuttaa tulet yöksi
• French: couvre-feu (fr) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: coprifuoco (it) m
• Middle English: curfu
• Romanian: stare de asediu (ro) f

evening bell

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: вече́рна камба́на (večérna kambána)
• Danish: aftenklokke c
• Dutch: avondklok (nl) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: iltasoitto
• French: couvre-feu (fr) m
• German: Abendläuten n
• Romanian: clopot de alarmă
• Swedish: aftonringning c

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Catalan: ^{(please verify)} toc de queda (ca) m
• Estonian: ^{(please verify)} komandanditund
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

See also

• lights-out
• lockdown
• martial law
• state of emergency
• state of siege

Further reading

• curfew on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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Middle English

Noun

curfew

1. Alternative form of curfu