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Webster 1913 Edition


Curtal

Cur′tal

(kûr′tal)
,
Adj.
[OF.
courtault
, F.
courtaud
, having a docked tail (cf. It.
cortaldo
), fr.
court
short, L.
curtus
. See
Curt
, and
Curtail
.]
Curt; brief; laconic.
Essays and
curtal
aphorisms.
Milton.
Curtal dog
.

Cur′tal

,
Noun.
A horse with a docked tail; hence, anything cut short.
[Obs]
Nares.

Webster 1828 Edition


Curtal

CURTAL

,
Noun.
A horse with a docked tail.

CURTAL

,
Adj.
Short; abridged; brief.

Definition 2024


curtal

curtal

English

Noun

curtal (plural curtals)

  1. (historical) A variety of short-barrelled cannon.
  2. (obsolete) A horse or other animal having a docked tail.
  3. (music) An early type of bassoon.

Adjective

curtal (comparative more curtal, superlative most curtal)

  1. (obsolete) Of horses, having a docked tail.
  2. (now rare) Physically shortened; short.
    • 1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin 2011, page 98:
      she had loosened her hair and changed into the curtal frock of sunbright cotton that he was so fond of and had so ardently yearned to soil in the so recent past.
  3. (obsolete) Abridged, curtailed.
    • Milton:
      Essays and curtal aphorisms.

Derived terms