sb. and a. Obs. exc. Hist. (or arch.). Forms: see the senses. [In 16th c. also courtault, curtald, a. 15th c. F. courtault, -auld, now courtaud:—OF. cortald, curtald; cf. It. cortalda short bombard, pot gun, cortaldo petriero a short perrier; a derivative of Romanic corto, F. court, ‘short,’ with suffix -aldo, -ald, -alt, -aud, of Teutonic origin: cf. Diez Gram. III. I. i. 3. French has the various senses ‘short or dumpy man,’ ‘docked horse or dog,’ ‘short piece of artillery,’ ‘short bassoon,’ which have been at various times, and more or less independently, taken into English.]
A. as sb. I. 6 courtault, -tall, -tal, 6–7 cortall, curtall, (6 curtell, -tole, -tayle, 6–7 toll, -taile, 6–8 -tail), 6– curtal.
1. A horse with its tail cut short or docked (and sometimes the ears cropped); app. sometimes a horse of a particular breed or small size, with which this practice was usual. Cf. COCKTAIL.
1530. Palsgr., 68. Covrtavlt, a courtall, a horse. Ibid., 506/1. I wyll cutte of my horse tayle and make hym a courtault.
1564–78. Bulleyn, Dial. agst. Pest. (1888), 80. You can make a stoned horse a geldyng, and a longe taile a courtall.
1577–87. Holinshed, Chron., III. 1056/2. Mounted on a curtaile.
1610. Markham, Masterp. (1636), 539. Of the making of Curtals, or cutting off of the tailes of Horses.
1611. Cotgr., Double courtaut, a strong curtall; or, a horse of a middle size betweene th’ ordinarie curtall, and horse of seruice.
1620. E. Blount, Horæ Subs., 36. They … thence vpon their Curtoe … goe to the Tauerne.
1653. H. Cogan, trans. Pinto’s Trav., xxxix. 156. Six pages apparelled in his Livery mounted on white Curtals.
2. transf. and fig. a. Any animal that has lost its tail. b. Anything docked, or cut short.
1607. Topsell, Serpents (1608), 696. Certain [serpents] … whose bodies of an equal … thicknesse, so as they appear without tails; being for that purpose called ‘Decurtati,’ Curtails.
1669. Address to Hopeful Young Gentry England, 80. There remains nothing of it but the shade of a great Name; the empty curtail of its faint Eccho.
1866. Lowell, Biglow P., Introd. Consider what a poor curtal we have made of Ocean. There was something of his heave and expanse in o-ce-an.
3. Applied to persons: a. with fig. reference to sense 1: One whose ears are cropped.
1592. Greene, Upst. Courtier, in Harl. Misc. (Malh.), II. 235. I am made a curtall, for the pillory … hath eaten off booth my eares.
b. cant. A rogue who wears a short cloak.
(In quot. 1725 differently explained.)
1561. Awdelay, Frat. Vacab., 4. A Curtall is much like to the Upright man…. He useth commonly to go with a short cloke, like to grey Friers.
1567. Harman, Caveat, 37. There bee of these Roges Curtales, wearinge shorte clokes.
a. 1700. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, Curtals, the Eleventh Rank of the Canting Crew.
1725. New Cant. Dict., Curtails … so called from their Practice to cut off Pieces of Silk, Cloth, Linen or Stuff, that were hung out at the Shop-Windows of Mercers, &c…. Also a Species of Cut-purses.
c. A term of derision or opprobrium. [Direct connection with F. courtaud ‘short or dumpy person’ is doubtful.]
1578. Whetstone, Promos & Cass., I. iv. (N.). Were you borne in a myll, curtole? you prate so hye.
1581. J. Bell, Haddon’s Answ. Osor., 201 b. That this creeppled curtoll of Osorius may stand upright upon his legges.
c. 1612. Beaum. & Fl., Thierry, I. i. Your old and honor’d Mistress, you tyr’d curtals, Suffers for your base sins.
d. A drab. [Perhaps referring to short skirts.]
1611. Cotgr., Caignardiere, a hedge-whore, lazie queane, lowsie trull, filthie curtall, Doxie, Morte.
1706. Phillips (ed. Kersey), Curtail, a Drab, or nasty Slut.
II. 6 courtault, curtald, cortoute, 6–7 curtall, 7 cortal; pl. 6–7 curtaux, -tawes, -towes.
4. A kind of cannon with a comparatively short barrel, in use in the 16th and 17th c. The demi- or half, and double curtall were smaller and larger varieties.
a. 1509. Ramsay, Lett. to Hen. VII., in Pinkerton, Hist. Scot. (1797), II. App. 440 (Jam.). ii great curtaldis, that war send out of France.
1530. Palsgr., 448/1. They bended agaynst the castell ten courtaultes and fyftene serpentynes.
1548. Hall, Chron. (1809), 671. Bombards Curtawes and demy Curtaux. Ibid., 680. One pece of ordinaunce called a Curtall. Ibid., 693. Double Curtalls.
1629. S’hertogenbosh, 36. The Enemies did shoot aboue 110 shot with halfe Curtowes.
1664. Flodden F., ii. 18. Culverings and Cortals great, And double Canons two or three.
III. 6. curtoll, 7–8 courtel, 8 curtail, -till, curtal, (8–9 courtaud, -aut).
5. An obsolete musical instrument, a kind of bassoon; also an organ-stop of similar quality of tone; also double curtal.
1582. Batman, Upon Barthol., 423/1, marg. The common bleting musicke is ye Drone, Hobius, and Curtoll.
168[?]. Lett., in Hawkins, Hist. Mus. (1776), IV. 355. Then Mr. Harris challenged Father Smith to make additional stops against a set time; these were the Vox-humane, the Cremona or Violin stop, the double Courtel or base Flute.
1706. E. Ward, Hud. Rediv. (1707), II. V. 24. With Voice as hoarse as double Curtal.
1776. Sir J. Hawkins, Hist. Music, IV. ix. 139. An instrument, called, by reason of its shortness, the Courtaut.
1888. Stainer & Barrett, Mus. Terms, Courtaut, Cortaud, Corthal, an ancient instrument of the bassoon kind.
B. attrib. or adj. Also 6–7 curtall, -toll.
1. Of horses: Having the tail docked; made a curtal.
1576. Inv., in Ripon Ch. Acts, 377. A curtall nagge.
1578. in W. H. Turner, Select Rec. Oxford, 396. One grey trotting curtoll mare.
1632. Thomas of Reading, in Thoms, Prose Rom. (1858), I. 146. If he ware a long taile, he would make him curtall.
c. 1640. J. Smyth, Lives Berkeleys (1883), I. 208. A Dun Curtall horse with a white head and black mane.
2. Of dogs: Having the tail cut short or cut off.
1590. Shaks., Com. Err., III. ii. 151. I thinke … she had transform’d me to a Curtull dog, and made me turne i’th wheele.
1599. Pass. Pilgr., 273. My curtail dog, that wont to have play’d, Plays not at all, but seems afraid.
a. 1663. R. Hood & Curtal Fryer, xxxiv. in Child, Ballads (1888), III. v. 125/2. The curtal dogs, so taught they were, They kept their arrows in their mouth.
3. Shortened, short in linear dimension.
1590. Greene, Orl. Fur. (1599), 45. What hast thou mard my sword? The pummel’s well, the blade is curtall short.
1605. Camden, Rem. (1657), 195. A new round curtall weed which they called a cloak.
1630. J. Taylor (Water P.), Vertue of a Tayle, Wks. II. 128/2. He notes the curtall cannes halfe fild with froth.
4. Abridged, curtailed; brief, scant, curt.
1579. Fulke, Refut. Rastel, 750. There needeth none other creed to be preached, but onely this short curtall creed.
1579. Tomson, Calvin’s Serm. Tim., 623/1. Wee muste not take this so short and curtall a passage for a life.
1649. Milton, Eikon., Wks. 1738, I. 410. Matters of this moment … not to be … determin’d here by Essays and curtal Aphorisms.
a. 1661. Holyday, Juvenal, 255. A Thankless Countrey’s Curtal Love.
5. Of the nature of a curtal or drab: see A. 3 d.
1595. Gosson, Quippes Upst. Gentlewom., 278. Next, curtaile flurt, as ranke as beast.
6. Curtal friar: app. a friar with a short frock; cf. A. 3 b, quot. 1561, B. 3, quot. 1605.
Applied in ballads to the friar (Tuck) who plays a part in some Robin Hood stories, called also ‘cutted friar.’ Hence, as a vague archaism, in Scott. [The conjecture that curtal here means curtilanus, as ‘having the care and keeping of the curtile or vegetable garden,’ is inadmissible.]
c. 1610. Ballad (Pepysian Libr. I. No. 37). The famous Battelle between Robin Hood and the Curtall Fryer.
a. 1663. R. Hood & Curtal Fryer, vi. in Child, Ballads (1888), III. V. 124/1. There lives a curtal frier in Fountains Abby Will beat both him and thee. Ibid., xiii. ibid. 124/2. Carry me over the water, thou curtal frier.
1820. Scott, Ivanhoe, xxxii. Now, sirs, who hath seen our chaplain? where is our curtal Friar? Ibid. Curtal Priest … thou hast been at wet mass this morning.
1888. F. J. Child, Ballads, III. V. No. 117. A curtal, or cutted friar, called Friar Tuck.
