curfew

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a rule requiring people to remain indoors or at home during specified hours

   The town imposed a curfew after the storm damaged the street lighting.

2. 2
   noun

   the time by which someone must be home or an activity must stop

   Her curfew was ten o'clock, so she caught the earlier bus.

3. 3
   noun

   a signal, such as a bell, announcing that an evening restriction has begun

   The curfew rang from the tower as the market closed.

4. 4
   noun

   historical: a rule requiring household fires to be put out or covered at a set evening hour

   The historian explained how a medieval curfew reduced the danger of fire.

5. 5
   noun

   historical: a cover placed over a fire to contain its embers

   A metal curfew rested beside the old hearth.

Simplified etymology

Curfew comes from Old French words meaning “cover fire,” from cuvrir “to cover” and feu “fire.” In the Middle Ages it denoted the time when household fires had to be covered or extinguished to prevent fires; it later came to mean a rule requiring people to remain indoors, usually at night.

From an Old French expression meaning cover fire, through Middle English.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary