curfew English · revision 141

5 Oct 2026, 22:05 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
← Previous edit
Changes in this edit

@@ -1,6 +1,31 @@
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈkɜː.fjuː/ ''(UK)''; /ˈkɝ.fju/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+ 
  ==Etymology==
  From [[enm|curfeu]],^(AHD)^(Etymonline) [[bor|xno|coeverfu]],^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) [[der|fro|cuevrefeu|t=cover fire]] (modern French ''couvre-feu''),^(AHD)^(Etymonline) from ''cuevre'', imperative of ''covrir'' “to cover”, + ''feu'' “fire”,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) the latter [[der|la|focus|t=hearth]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
  
− The word named the evening signal to bank the hearth fires,^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) a medieval practice meant to prevent fires from untended hearths.^(Etymonline) The extended sense “periodic restriction of movement” had developed by the 1800s.^(Etymonline) Compare [[cover]] and [[kerchief]].^(Wiktionary)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The evening signal, given by ringing a bell, to cover or put out hearth fires,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) under a medieval European regulation meant to prevent fires from untended hearths.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The bell, usually rung at eight or nine in the evening, continued in many towns after the regulation itself had lapsed.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary) The extended sense “periodic restriction of movement” had developed by the 1800s.^(Etymonline) The word also once named a metal cover for a fire.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1285 – the practice of ringing an evening bell.^(OED 1989)
+ * early 14th century – ''curfew-bell''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1592 – also a bell rung in the morning, now obsolete.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1800s – “periodic restriction of movement”.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A regulation requiring people to stay indoors or off the streets after a set time.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # The time at which such a restriction begins, or the period during which it applies.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A time by which someone, such as a child, must be home.^(RHWU)
+ # A signal, such as a bell, marking the start of a curfew.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[cover]]
+ * [[kerchief]]
+ * [[focus]]
  
  ==References==