v. Forms: 4 encortin, 6 encurtine, incorteyn, incurtain, -teyn, 7 en-, incourtaine, 7– encurtain. [a. OF. encortine-r, encourtine-r, f. en- in + cortine, courtine CURTAIN.]
1. trans. To surround, or envelop with curtains.
1393. Gower, Conf., I. 71. A softe bedde of large space They hadde made and encortined.
c. 1530. Ld. Berners, Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814), 6. To lye in the bed incorteyned wyth sylke.
1601. Holland, Pliny, XIX. i. They began at Rome to encourtaine their Theatre with such vailes dyed in colours.
2. trans. and fig. To surround as with a curtain; to shroud, veil.
1596. Fitz-Geffrey, Sir F. Drake (1881), 97. Since first these clouds his [the sunne’s] face incurtained.
c. 1800. K. White, Poet. Wks. (1837), 71. Encurtain’d in the main.
1869. Spurgeon, Treas. Dav., Ps. xviii. 11. Blessed is the darkness which encurtains my God.
† 3. Fortification. (See quot.) Obs. rare–1. [So encortiner in OF.; cf. CURTAIN sb.]
1598. Florio, Cortinare, to encurtine, to flank or fortifie about with a wall.
Hence Encurtained ppl. a.
1595. Markham, Sir R. Grinvile, lxxxviii. Bright day is darkned by incurtaind light.
1606. Chapman, Mons. D’Olive, I. i. A ij b. Through the encourtaind windowes … I see light Tapers.
1631. Brathwait, Whimzies, Gamester, 40. At the end of every act, the encurtain’d musique sounds.
