1. [n]  hanging cloth used as a blind
2. [n]  any barrier to communication or vision; "a curtain of secrecy"; "a curtain of trees"
3. [v]  provide with curtains, as of a room or a window

1. \Cur"tain\ (k?r"t?n; 48), n. [OE. cortin, curtin,fr. OF.
   cortine, curtine, F. courtine, LL. cortina, curtian (in
   senses 1 and 2), also, small court, small inclosure
   surrounded by walls, from cortis court. See {Court}.]
   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.
   
   

2. \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.
   
   

(1.) Ten curtains, each twenty-eight cubits long and four wide, made of fine linen, also eleven made of goat's hair, covered the tabernacle (Ex. 26:1-13; 36:8-17).

(2.) The sacred curtain, separating the holy of holies from the sanctuary, is designated by a different Hebrew word (peroketh). It is described as a "veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work" (Ex. 26:31; Lev. 16:2; Num. 18:7).

(3.) "Stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain" (Isa. 40:22), is an expression used with reference to the veil or awning which Orientals spread for a screen over their courts in summer. According to the prophet, the heavens are spread over our heads as such an awning. Similar expressions are found in Ps. 104:2l; comp. Isa. 44:24; Job 9:8.