curtain

Everyday

1. A curtain is a piece of cloth that hangs over a window to block light or stop people looking in. tree →
2. A curtain is also the big cloth across the front of a stage in a theatre. tree →
3. A curtain of something is a thick wall of it, like a curtain of rain. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life, people draw (close) the curtains at night and open them in the morning. In safety, curtain cords and blind cords can strangle young children, so they must be tied up high; curtains should be kept away from candles and heaters. In the theatre, the curtain goes up at the start and comes down at the end; a curtain call is when actors bow. Phrases: draw the curtains, open the curtains, shower curtain, curtain call, behind the curtain.

Examples

• Please close the curtains; it's getting dark. tree →
• She opened the curtains and let the sun in. tree →
• The curtain went up and the play began. tree →
• Keep candles away from the curtains. tree →
• Tie up curtain cords so little kids can't reach them. tree →
• We hid behind the curtain in hide-and-seek. tree →
• A curtain of rain swept across the field. tree →
• The actors came out for a curtain call. tree →
• She drew aside the curtains of the little bed. tree →

Note

Countable; usually plural for windows: «the curtains». «Draw the curtains» can mean open or close them. American English also says «drapes» for heavy curtains. Spelled -tain: cur-tain.

In Jewish tradition

Curtains were the woven or goat-hair sheets joined together to make the covering of the tabernacle, the portable sanctuary. In the Writings and Prophets it also means the cloth of a tent, and the heavens are pictured as a curtain stretched out by God.

Interpretation. The tradition counts the ten linen curtains and eleven goat-hair ones with great care. They are seen as models for the holy dwelling place and, in some readings, for the order of the world. The psalm's picture of the sky as a curtain is read as God's greatness over all creation.

Examples

• And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. (Torah EXO.36.16, JPS 1917) tree →
• And he coupled five curtains one to another; and the other five curtains he coupled one to another. (Torah EXO.36.10, JPS 1917) tree →
• And he made curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains he made them. (Torah EXO.36.14, JPS 1917) tree →
• Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment, who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain; (Writings PSA.104.2, JPS 1917) tree →
• I see the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian do tremble. (Prophets HAB.3.7, JPS 1917) tree →
• 'I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. (Writings SNG.1.5, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable; usually plural for windows: «the curtains». «Draw the curtains» can mean open or close them. American English also says «drapes» for heavy curtains. Spelled -tain: cur-tain.