curfew

英文詞源

curfew

curfew: [13] Curfew means literally ‘coverfire’. It was introduced into English via Anglo-Norman coeverfu from Old French covrefeu, which was formed from covrir ‘cover’ and feu ‘fire’ (feu was a descendant of Latin focus ‘hearth’, which has given English focus, foyer, fuel, and fusillade). The notion underlying the word is that of a signal given at a particular time in the evening to extinguish all fires in a town, camp, etc; its original purpose seems to have been to prevent accidental fires breaking out at night.
=> cover, focus, foyer, fuel

curfew (n.)

early 14c., "evening signal, ringing of a bell at a fixed hour," from Anglo-French coeverfu (late 13c.), from Old French cuevrefeu, literally "cover fire" (Modern French couvre-few), from cuevre, imperative of covrir "to cover" (see cover (v.)) + feu "fire" (see focus (n.)). The medieval practice of ringing a bell at fixed time in the evening as an order to bank the hearths and prepare for sleep. The original purpose was to prevent conflagrations from untended fires. The modern extended sense of "periodic restriction of movement" had evolved by 1800s.