curfew English · revision 21

+ ==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)

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+ 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)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}