Where does “curtain” come from?
Curtain comes from Middle English curteyn, from Old French cortine, from Latin cortina, ultimately derived from Latin cohors meaning an enclosed yard or court.
curtain (English): A piece of cloth covering a window, bed, etc. to...
Definitions
- A piece of cloth covering a window, bed, etc. to...
Ancestry of “curtain”, step by step
curtain traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English curteyn
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | curteyn | — |
| 2 | Old French | cortine | curtain |
| 3 | Late Latin | cortina | cauldron; curtain; curtain |
| 4 | Latin | cortina | cauldron, kettle; the sacred tripod of Apollo,... |
| 5 | Latin | cortem | accusative singular of cōrs |
| 6 | Latin | cors | Alternative form of cohors; farmyard or... |
| 7 | Latin | cohors | a court; a farmyard or enclosure; a retinue or... |
| 8 | Latin | co- | allomorph of con- |
| 9 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 10 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 11 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 15 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 16 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 17 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 18 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 19 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 20 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 21 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
via Middle English cortine
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | cortine | — |
via Middle English cortyn
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | cortyn | — |