Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: curtine, from Late Latin cortina, from Latin cohors 'enclosure, court'; COHORT

curtain

1 noun
     
Related topics: Theatre, Household
cur‧tain1 S2 W3 [countable]
1DH a piece of hanging cloth that can be pulled across to cover a window, divide a room etc:
red velvet curtains
draw/close/pull the curtains
Ella drew the curtains and switched the light on.
draw back/open the curtains
Shall I open the curtains?
2APT a sheet of heavy material that comes down at the front of the stage in a theatre
the curtain goes up/rises
Before the curtain went up, the dancers took their places on stage.
3 written a thick layer of something that stops anything behind it from being seen
curtain of
a curtain of smoke
4

bring down the curtain on something

informal to cause or mark the end of a situation or period of time:
The decision brought down the curtain on a 30-year career.
5

(it'll) be curtains for somebody/something

informal used to say that someone will die or that something will end
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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