curtail

• POS: Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: cur=tail

CIDE DICTIONARY

curtail, v. t. [See Curtal.].

 To cut off the end or tail, or any part, of; to shorten; to abridge; to diminish; to reduce.  [1913 Webster]
"I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion."  [1913 Webster]
"Our incomes have been curtailed; his salary has been doubled."  [1913 Webster]

curtail, n. 

 The scroll termination of any architectural member, as of a step, etc.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

curtail, v.tr.
1 cut short; reduce; terminate esp. prematurely (curtailed his visit to America).
2 (foll. by of) archaic deprive of.

Derivative

curtailment n.

Etymology

obs. curtal horse with docked tail f. F courtault f. court short f. L curtus: assim. to tail

THESAURUS

curtail

abate, abbreviate, abrade, abridge, abstract, arrest, bate, bereave, bleed, bob, boil down, bridle, capsulize, check, circumscribe, clip, coarct, compact, compress, concentrate, condense, consolidate, constrain, constrict, constringe, contain, contract, control, cool, cool off, cramp, crop, curb, cut, cut back, cut down, cut off, cut off short, cut short, damp, dampen, decelerate, decrease, deduct, deflate, depreciate, depress, deprive, deprive of, derogate, detract, diminish, disentitle, disparage, divest, dock, dompt, downgrade, drain, draw, draw in, draw together, ease one of, eat away, elide, enjoin, epitomize, erode, extract, file away, foreshorten, govern, guard, hinder, hold, hold at bay, hold back, hold fast, hold in, hold in check, hold in leash, hold up, impair, inhibit, keep, keep back, keep from, keep in, keep in check, keep under control, knit, lay under restraint, leach, lessen, lighten one of, lower, milk, mine, minify, mow, narrow, nip, pare, poll, pollard, prohibit, prune, pucker, pucker up, pull, pull in, purify, purse, reap, recap, recapitulate, reduce, refine, rein, rein in, remove, restrain, retard, retrench, roll back, rub away, scale down, set back, shave, shear, shorten, simplify, slash, slow down, snub, solidify, step down, straiten, strangle, strangulate, stunt, subduct, subtract, sum up, summarize, synopsize, take away, take away from, take from, take in, tap, telescope, thin, thin out, trim, truncate, tune down, wear away, weed, withdraw, withhold, wrinkle

ROGET THESAURUS

curtail

Subtraction

VB subduct, subtract, deduct, deduce, bate, retrench, remove, withdraw, take from, take away, detract, garble, mutilate, amputate, detruncate, cut off, cut away, cut out, abscind, excise, pare, thin, prune, decimate, abrade, scrape, file, geld, castrate, eliminate, diminish, curtail, deprive of, weaken.

Shortness

VB be short, render short, shorten, curtail, abridge, abbreviate, take in, reduce, compress, epitomize, retrench, cut short, obtruncate, scrimp, cut, chop up, hack, hew, cut down, pare down, clip, dock, lop, prune, shear, shave, mow, reap, crop, snub, truncate, pollard, stunt, nip, check the growth of, foreshorten (in drawing).