Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

curtal

adjective
cur·​tal | \ ˈkər-tᵊl How to pronounce curtal (audio) \

Definition of curtal

1 obsolete : having a docked tail
2 obsolete : brief, curtailed
3 archaic : wearing a short frock

First Known Use of curtal

1576, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for curtal

Middle French courtault, from court short, from Latin curtus

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about curtal

Statistics for curtal

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for curtal

The first known use of curtal was in 1576

See more words from the same year

More from Merriam-Webster on curtal

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about curtal

Comments on curtal

What made you want to look up curtal? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

propitious

Listen to the pronounciation of propitious

likely to have or produce good results

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Words from Greek and Latin Quiz

  • roman forum
  • Which of the following months comes from a Latin word for “ten”?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games