Chapter 106

1. A hanging screen intended to darken or conceal, and admitting of being drawn back or up, and reclosed at pleasure; esp., drapery of cloth or lace hanging round a bed or at a window; in theaters, and like places, a movable screen for concealing the stage.

2. (Fort.) That part of the rampart and parapet which is between two bastions or two gates. See Illustrations of Ravelin and Bastion.

3. (Arch.) That part of a wall of a building which is between two pavilions, towers, etc.

4. A flag; an ensign; -- in contempt. [Obs.] Shak.

Behind the curtain, in concealment; in secret. -- Curtain lecture, a querulous lecture given by a wife to her husband within the bed curtains, or in bed. Jerrold.

A curtain lecture is worth all the sermons in the world for teaching the virtues of patience and long- suffering. W. Irving.

-- The curtain falls, the performance closes. -- The curtain rises, the performance begins. -- To draw the curtain, to close it over an object, or to remove it; hence: (a) To hide or to disclose an object. (b) To commence or close a performance. -- To drop the curtain, to end the tale, or close the performance.

Cur"tain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Curtained (-t?nd; 48); p. pr. & vb. n. Curtaining.] To inclose as with curtains; to furnish with curtains.

So when the sun in bed Curtained with cloudy red. Milton.

Cur"tal (k?r"tal), a. [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. See Curtail dog.

Cur"tal, n. A horse with a docked tail; hence, anything cut short. [Obs] Nares.

{ Cur"tal ax` (?ks`), Cur"tle ax`, Curte"lasse (k?rt"las) }. A corruption of Cutlass.

Cur"tal fri`ar (fr?`?r). A friar who acted as porter at the gate of a monastery. Sir W. Scott.

Cur*ta"na (k?r-t?"n?), n. The pointless sword carried before English monarchs at their coronation, and emblematically considered as the sword of mercy; -- also called the sword of Edward the Confessor.

Cur"tate (k?r"t?t), a. [L. curtatus, p. p. of curtare to shorten, fr. curtus. See Curt.] (Astron.) Shortened or reduced; -- said of the distance of a planet from the sun or earth, as measured in the plane of the ecliptic, or the distance from the sun or earth to that point where a perpendicular, let fall from the planet upon the plane of the ecliptic, meets the ecliptic.

Curtate cycloid. (Math.) See Cycloid.

Cur*ta"tion (k?r-t?"sh?n), n. (Astron.) The interval by which the curtate distance of a planet is less than the true distance.

Cur*tein" (k?r-t?n"), n. Same as Curtana.

Cur*tes" (k?r-t?s"), a. Courteous. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Cur"te*sy (k?r"t?-s?), n.; pl. Curtesies (-s&?;z). [Either fr. courlesy, the lands being held as it were by favor; or fr. court (LL. curtis), the husband being regarded as holding the lands as a vassal of the court. See Court, Courtesy.] (Law) the life estate which a husband has in the lands of his deceased wife, which by the common law takes effect where he has had issue by her, born alive, and capable of inheriting the lands. Mozley & W.

Cur"ti*lage (k&?;r"t&?;-l&?;j), n. [OF. cortillage, curtillage, fr. cortil court, courtyard, LL. cortis court. See Court.] (Law) A yard, courtyard, or piece of ground, included within the fence surrounding a dwelling house. Burrill.

Curt"ly (kűrt"l&ybreve;), adv. In a curt manner.

Curt"ness, n. The quality of bing curt.

Curt"sy (kűrt"s&ybreve;), n. Same as Courtesy, an act of respect.

Cu"rule (kū"r&udd;l), a. [L. curulis, fr. currus a chariot: cf. F. curule.] 1. Of or pertaining to a chariot.

2. (Rom. Antiq.) Of or pertaining to a kind of chair appropriated to Roman magistrates and dignitaries; pertaining to, having, or conferring, the right to sit in the curule chair; hence, official.

&fist; The curule chair was usually shaped like a camp stool, and provided with curved legs. It was at first ornamented with ivory, and later sometimes made of ivory and inlaid with gold.

Curule dignity right of sitting in the curule chair.

||Cu*ru"ro (k??-r??"r?), n. [Chilian name.] (Zo÷l.) A Chilian burrowing rodent of the genus Spalacopus.

{ Cur"val (k?r"val), Cur"vant (- vant) }, a. [L. curvans, p. pr. ] (Her.) Bowed; bent; curved.

{ Cur"vate (k?r"v?t), Cur"va*ted (-v?-t?d), } a. [L. curvatus p. p. of curvare to curve, fr. curvus. See Curve.] Bent in a regular form; curved.

Cur*va"tion (k?r-v?"sh?n), n. [L. curvatio.] The act of bending or crooking.

Cur"va*tive (k?r"v?-t?v), a. (Bot.) Having the margins only a little curved; -- said of leaves. Henslow.

Cur"va*ture (k?r"v?-t?r; 135), n. [L. curvatura. See Curvate.] 1. The act of curving, or the state of being bent or curved; a curving or bending, normal or abnormal, as of a line or surface from a rectilinear direction; a bend; a curve. Cowper.

The elegant curvature of their fronds. Darwin.

2. (Math.) The amount of degree of bending of a mathematical curve, or the tendency at any point to depart from a tangent drawn to the curve at that point.

Aberrancy of curvature (Geom.), the deviation of a curve from a circular form. -- Absolute curvature. See under Absolute. -- Angle of curvature (Geom.), one that expresses the amount of curvature of a curve. -- Chord of curvature. See under Chord. -- Circle of curvature. See Osculating circle of a curve, under Circle. -- Curvature of the spine (Med.), an abnormal curving of the spine, especially in a lateral direction. -- Radius of curvature, the radius of the circle of curvature, or osculatory circle, at any point of a curve.

Curve (kűrv), a. [L. curvus bent, curved. See Cirb.] Bent without angles; crooked; curved; as, a curve line; a curve surface.

Curve, n. [See Curve, a., Cirb.] 1. A bending without angles; that which is bent; a flexure; as, a curve in a railway or canal.

2. (Geom.) A line described according to some low, and having no finite portion of it a straight line.

Axis of a curve. See under Axis. -- Curve of quickest descent. See Brachystochrone. -- Curve tracing (Math.), the process of determining the shape, location, singular points, and other peculiarities of a curve from its equation. -- Plane curve (Geom.), a curve such that when a plane passes through three points of the curve, it passes through all the other points of the curve. Any other curve is called a curve of double curvature, or a twisted curve.

Curve, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Curved (k?rvd); p. pr. & vb. n. Curving.] [L. curvare., fr. curvus. See Curve, a., Curb.] To bend; to crook; as, to curve a line; to curve a pipe; to cause to swerve from a straight course; as, to curve a ball in pitching it.

Curve, v. i. To bend or turn gradually from a given direction; as, the road curves to the right.

Curv"ed*ness (-?d-n?s), n. The state of being curved.

Cur"vet (kűr"v?t or kűr-v?t"; 277), n. [OE. corvet, It. corvetta: cf. F. courbette. See Curve, and cf. Corvetto.] 1. (Man.) A particular leap of a horse, when he raises both his fore legs at once, equally advanced, and, as his fore legs are falling, raises his hind legs, so that all his legs are in the air at once.

2. A prank; a frolic.

Cur"vet, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Curveted or -vetted; p. pr. & vb. n. Curveting or -vetting.] [Cf. It. corvettare. See Curvet, n.] 1. To make a curvet; to leap; to bound. "Oft and high he did curvet." Drayton.

2. To leap and frisk; to frolic. Shak.

Cur"vet, v. t. To cause to curvet. Landor.

Cur`vi*cau"date (k?r`v?-k?"d?t), a. [L. curvus bent + E. caudate.] (Zo÷l.) Having a curved or crooked tail.

Cur`vi*cos"tate (k?r`v?-k?s"t?t), a. [L. curvus + E. costate.] (Bot.) Having bent ribs.

Cur`vi*den"tate (k?r`v?-d?n"t?t), a. [L. curvus + E. dentate.] Having curved teeth.

Cur"vi*form (k?r"v?-f?rm), a. [L. curvus + -form.] Having a curved form.

Cur`vi*lin"e*ad (k?r`v?-l?n"?-?d), n. (Geom.) An instrument for drawing curved lines.

{ Cur`vi*lin"e*al (-al), Cur`vi*lin"e*ar (-?r), } a. [L. curvus bent + E. lineal, linear.] Consisting of, or bounded by, curved lines; as, a curvilinear figure.

Cur`vi*lin`e*ar"i*ty (-?r"?-t?), n. The state of being curvilinear or of being bounded by curved lines.

Cur`vi*lin"e*ar*ly (-?r-l?), adv. In a curvilinear manner.

Cur"vi*nerved` (-n?rvd`), a. [L. curvus bent + E. nerve. ] (Bot.) Having the ribs or the veins of the leaves curved; -- called also curvinervate and curve-veined.

Cur`vi*ros"tral (-r?s"tral), a. [L. curvus + E. rostral.] (Zo÷l.) Having a crooked beak, as the crossbill.

||Cur"vi*ros"tres (-r?s"tr?z), n. pl. [NL., fr. L. curvus curved + rostrum beak, rostrum.] (Zo÷l.) A group of passerine birds, including the creepers and nuthatches.

Cur`vi*se"ri*al (-s?"r?-al), a. [L. curvus bent + E. serial.] (Bot.) Distributed in a curved line, as leaves along a stem.

Cur"vi*ty (k?r"v?-y?), n. [L. curvitas, from curvus bent: cf. F. curvitÚ.] The state of being curved; a bending in a regular form; crookedness. Holder.

Cur"vo*graph (k?r"v?-gr?f), n. [L. curvus bent + -graph.] (Geom.) An arcograph.

Cush"at (k??sh"?t), n. [AS. cusceote.] (Zo÷l.) The ringdove or wood pigeon.

Scarce with cushat's homely song can vie. Sir W. Scott.

Cush"ew*bird (k?sh"?-b?rd`), n. (Zo÷l) The galeated curassow. See Curassow.

Cush"ion (k??sh"?n), n. [OE. cuischun, quisshen, OF. coissin, cuissin, F. coussin, fr. (assumed) LL. culcitinum, dim. of L. culcita cushion, mattress, pillow. See Quilt, and cf. Counterpoint a coverlet.] 1. A case or bag stuffed with some soft and elastic material, and used to sit or recline upon; a soft pillow or pad.

Two cushions stuffed with straw, the seat to raise. Dryden.

2. Anything resembling a cushion in properties or use; as: (a) a pad on which gilders cut gold leaf; (b) a mass of steam in the end of the cylinder of a steam engine to receive the impact of the piston; (c) the elastic edge of a billiard table.

3. A riotous kind of dance, formerly common at weddings; -- called also cushion dance. Halliwell.

Cushion capital.(Arch.) A capital so sculptured as to appear like a cushion pressed down by the weight of its entablature. (b) A name given to a form of capital, much used in the Romanesque style, modeled like a bowl, the upper part of which is cut away on four sides, leaving vertical faces. -- Cushion star (Zo÷l.) a pentagonal starfish belonging to Goniaster, Astrogonium, and other allied genera; -- so called from its form.

Cush"ion (k??sh"?n), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cushioned (-?nd); p. pr. & vb. Cushioning.] 1. To seat or place on, or as on a cushion.

Many who are cushioned on thrones would have remained in obscurity. Bolingbroke.

2. To furnish with cushions; as, to cushion a chaise.

3. To conceal or cover up, as under a cushion.

Cushioned hammer, a dead-stroke hammer. See under Dead-stroke.

Cush"ion*et (k??sh"?n-?t), n. [OF. coissinet, F. coussinet. See Cushion, and cf. Coussinet.] A little cushion.

Cush"ion*less, a. Not furnished with a cushion.

Rows of long, cushionless benches, supplying the place of pews. Hawthorne.

Cush"ion*y (-?), a. Like a cushion; soft; pliable.

A flat and cushiony nose. Dickens.

Cush"ite (k?sh"?t), n. A descendant of Cush, the son of Ham and grandson of Noah.

Cusk (k?sk), n. (Zo÷l.) A large, edible, marine fish (Brosmius brosme), allied to the cod, common on the northern coasts of Europe and America; -- called also tusk and torsk.

Cus"kin (k?s"k?n), n. A kind of drinking cup. [Obs.]

Cusp (kŭsp), n. [L. cuspis, -idis, point, pointed end.] 1. (Arch.) A triangular protection from the intrados of an arch, or from an inner curve of tracery.

2. (Astrol.) The beginning or first entrance of any house in the calculations of nativities, etc.

3. (Astron.) The point or horn of the crescent moon or other crescent-shaped luminary.

4. (Math.) A multiple point of a curve at which two or more branches of the curve have a common tangent.

5. (Anat.) A prominence or point, especially on the crown of a tooth.

6. (Bot.) A sharp and rigid point.

Cusp, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cusped (k?spt); p. pr. & vb. n. Cusping.] To furnish with a cusp or cusps.

Cus"pa*ted (k?s"p?-t?d), a. Ending in a point.

Cus"pid (k?s"p?d), n. [See Cusp.] (Anat.) One of the canine teeth; -- so called from having but one point or cusp on the crown. See Tooth.

Cus"pi*dal (-p?-dal), a. [From L. cuspis, cuspidis. See Cusp.] Ending in a point.

Cus"pi*date (-d?t), v. t. To make pointed or sharp.

{ Cus"pi*date (k?s"p?-d?t), Cus"pi*da`ted (- d?`t?d), } a. [L. cuspidatus, p. p. of cuspidare to make pointed, fr. cuspis. See Cusp.] Having a sharp end, like the point of a spear; terminating in a hard point; as, a cuspidate leaf.

Cus"pi*dor (-d?r), n. [Pg. cuspideria, fr. cuspir to spit.] Any ornamental vessel used as a spittoon; hence, to avoid the common term, a spittoon of any sort.

||Cus"pis (k?s"p?s), n. [L.] A point; a sharp end.

Cus"tard (k?s"t?rd), n. [Prob. the same word as OE. crustade, crustate, a pie made with a crust, fr. L. crustatus covered with a crust, p. p. of crustare, fr. crusta crust; cf. OF. croustade pasty, It. crostata, or F. coutarde. See Crust, and cf. Crustated.] A mixture of milk and eggs, sweetened, and baked or boiled.

Custard apple (Bot.), a low tree or shrub of tropical America, including several species of Anona (A. squamosa, reticulata, etc.), having a roundish or ovate fruit the size of a small orange, containing a soft, yellowish, edible pulp. -- Custard coffin, pastry, or crust, which covers or coffins a custard [Obs.] Shak.

Cus"tode (k?s"t?d), n. [F. or It. custode, fr. L. custos, -odis.] See Custodian.

Cus*to"di*al (k?s-t?"d?-al), a. [Cf. F. custodial, fr. L. custodia. See Custody.] Relating to custody or guardianship.

Cus*to"di*an (k?s-t?"d?-an), n. [From Custody.] One who has care or custody, as of some public building; a keeper or superintendent.

Cus*to"di*an*ship, n. Office or duty of a custodian.

Cus*to"di*er (-?r), n. [Cf. LL. custodiarus.] A custodian. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

Cus"to*dy (k?s"t?-d?), n. [L. custodia, fr. custos guard; prob. akin to Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?;&?;&?; to hide, and E. hide. See Hide to cover.] 1. A keeping or guarding; care, watch, inspection, for keeping, preservation, or security.

A fleet of thirty ships for the custody of the narrow seas. Bacon.

2. Judicial or penal safe- keeping.

Jailer, take him to thy custody. Shak.

3. State of being guarded and watched to prevent escape; restraint of liberty; confinement; imprisonment.

What pease will be given To us enslaved, but custody severe, And stripes and arbitrary punishment? Milton.

Cus"tom (kŭs"tŭm), n. [OF. custume, costume, Anglo-Norman coustome, F. coutume, fr. (assumed) LL. consuetumen custom, habit, fr. L. consuetudo, - dinis, fr. consuescere to accustom, verb inchoative fr. consuere to be accustomed; con- + suere to be accustomed, prob. originally, to make one's own, fr. the root of suus one's own; akin to E. so, adv. Cf. Consuetude, Costume.]

1. Frequent repetition of the same act; way of acting common to many; ordinary manner; habitual practice; usage; method of doing or living.

And teach customs which are not lawful. Acts xvi. 21.

Moved beyond his custom, Gama said. Tennyson.

A custom More honored in the breach than the observance. Shak.

2. Habitual buying of goods; practice of frequenting, as a shop, manufactory, etc., for making purchases or giving orders; business support.

Let him have your custom, but not your votes. Addison.

3. (Law) Long-established practice, considered as unwritten law, and resting for authority on long consent; usage. See Usage, and Prescription.

&fist; Usage is a fact. Custom is a law. There can be no custom without usage, though there may be usage without custom. Wharton.

4. Familiar aquaintance; familiarity. [Obs.]

Age can not wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety. Shak.

Custom of merchants, a system or code of customs by which affairs of commerce are regulated. -- General customs, those which extend over a state or kingdom. -- Particular customs, those which are limited to a city or district; as, the customs of London.

Syn. -- Practice; fashion. See Habit, and Usage.

Cus"tom, v. t. [Cf. OF. costumer. Cf. Accustom.]

1. To make familiar; to accustom. [Obs.] Gray.

2. To supply with customers. [Obs.] Bacon.

Cus"tom, v. i. To have a custom. [Obs.]

On a bridge he custometh to fight. Spenser.

Cus"tom, n. [OF. coustume, F. coutume, tax, i. e., the usual tax. See 1st Custom.] 1. The customary toll, tax, or tribute.

Render, therefore, to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom. Rom. xiii. 7.

2. pl. Duties or tolls imposed by law on commodities, imported or exported.

Cus"tom, v. t. To pay the customs of. [Obs.] Marlowe.

Cus"tom*a*ble (-&adot;*b'l), a. [Cf. OF. coustumable.]

1. Customary. [Obs.] Sir T. More.

2. Subject to the payment of customs; dutiable.

Cus"tom*a*ble*ness, n. Quality of being customable; conformity to custom. [Obs.]

Cus"tom*a*bly, adv. Usually. [Obs.] Milton.

Cus"tom*a*ri*ly (-&asl;*r&ibreve;*l&ybreve;), adv. In a customary manner; habitually.

Cus"tom*a*ri*ness, n. Quality of being customary.

Cus"tom*a*ry (kŭs"tŭm*&asl;*r&ybreve;), a. [CF. OF. coustumier, F. coutumier. See Custom, and cf. Customer.]

1. Agreeing with, or established by, custom; established by common usage; conventional; habitual.

Even now I met him With customary compliment. Shak.

A formal customary attendance upon the offices. South.

2. (Law) Holding or held by custom; as, customary tenants; customary service or estate.

Cus"tom*a*ry, n. [OF. coustumier, F. coutumier.] A book containing laws and usages, or customs; as, the Customary of the Normans. Cowell.

Cus"tom*er (kŭs"tŭm*&etilde;r), n. [A doublet of customary, a.: cf. LL. custumarius toll gatherer. See Custom.]

1. One who collect customs; a toll gatherer. [Obs.]

The customers of the small or petty custom and of the subsidy do demand of them custom for kersey cloths. Hakluyt.

2. One who regularly or repeatedly makes purchases of a trader; a purchaser; a buyer.

He has got at last the character of a good customer; by this means he gets credit for something considerable, and then never pays for it. Goldsmith.

3. A person with whom a business house has dealings; as, the customers of a bank. J. A. H. Murray.

4. A peculiar person; -- in an indefinite sense; as, a queer customer; an ugly customer. [Colloq.] Dickens.

5. A lewd woman. [Obs.] Shak.

Cus"tom*house" (-hous`), n. The building where customs and duties are paid, and where vessels are entered or cleared.

Customhouse broker, an agent who acts for merchants in the business of entering and clearing goods and vessels.

||Cus"tos (kŭs"t&obreve;s), n.; pl. Custodes (kŭs*tō"dēz). [L.] A keeper; a custodian; a superintendent. [Obs.]

Custos rotulorum (r&obreve;t`&usl;*lō"rŭm) [LL., keeper of the rolls] (Eng. Law), the principal justice of the peace in a county, who is also keeper of the rolls and records of the sessions of the peace.

Cus"trel (kŭs"trel), n. [OF. coustillier. See Coistril.] An armor-bearer to a knight. [Obs.]

Cus"trel, n. See Costrel. [Obs.] Ainsworth.

Cus"tu*ma*ry (-t&usl;*m&asl;*r&ybreve;), a. See Customary. [Obs.]

Cut (kŭt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cut; p. pr. & vb. n. Cutting.] [OE. cutten, kitten, ketten; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. cwtau to shorten, curtail, dock, cwta bobtailed, cwt tail, skirt, Gael. cutaich to shorten, curtail, dock, cutach short, docked, cut a bobtail, piece, Ir. cut a short tail, cutach bobtailed. Cf. Coot.] 1. To separate the parts of with, or as with, a sharp instrument; to make an incision in; to gash; to sever; to divide.

You must cut this flesh from off his breast. Shak.

Before the whistling winds the vessels fly, With rapid swiftness cut the liquid way. Pope.

2. To sever and cause to fall for the purpose of gathering; to hew; to mow or reap.

Thy servants can skill to cut timer. 2. Chron. ii. 8

3. To sever and remove by cutting; to cut off; to dock; as, to cut the hair; to cut the nails.

4. To castrate or geld; as, to cut a horse.

5. To form or shape by cutting; to make by incision, hewing, etc.; to carve; to hew out.

Why should a man. whose blood is warm within, Sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster? Shak.

Loopholes cut through thickest shade. Milton.

6. To wound or hurt deeply the sensibilities of; to pierce; to lacerate; as, sarcasm cuts to the quick.

The man was cut to the heart. Addison.

7. To intersect; to cross; as, one line cuts another at right angles.

8. To refuse to recognize; to ignore; as, to cut a person in the street; to cut one's acquaintance. [Colloq.]

9. To absent one's self from; as, to cut an appointment, a recitation. etc. [Colloq.]

An English tradesman is always solicitous to cut the shop whenever he can do so with impunity. Thomas Hamilton.

To cut a caper. See under Caper. -- To cut the cards, to divide a pack of cards into portions, in order to determine the deal or the trump, or to change the cards to be dealt. -- To cut a dash or a figure, to make a display. [Colloq.] -- To cut down. (a) To sever and cause to fall; to fell; to prostrate. "Timber . . . cut down in the mountains of Cilicia." Knolles. (b) To put down; to abash; to humble. [Obs] "So great is his natural eloquence, that he cuts doun the finest orator." Addison (c) To lessen; to retrench; to curtail; as, to cut down expenses. (d) (Naut.) To raze; as, to cut down a frigate into a sloop. -- To cut the knot or the Gordian knot, to dispose of a difficulty summarily; to solve it by prompt, arbitrary action, rather than by skill or patience. -- To cut lots, to determine lots by cuttings cards; to draw lots. -- To cut off. (a) To sever; to separate.

I would to God, . . . The king had cut off my brother's. Shak.