curtilage

English

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English curtylage and Anglo-Norman, from Old French cortillage, curtillage, from cortil (“court, courtyard”), from Latin cortis (“court”); see court. Compare courtledge.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkɜːtɪlɪd͡ʒ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) enPR: kûrʹtəl-ĭj, IPA^(key): /ˈkɝtəlɪd͡ʒ/

Noun

curtilage (plural curtilages)

1. (law) The area immediately surrounding a house, especially dooryard areas and sometimes including closely associated buildings and structures.
   • 2007, Ken Wallentine, Street Legal: A Guide to Pre-trial Criminal Procedure for Police, Prosecutors, and Defenders:

     The scope of the curtilage is determined by considering the proximity to the home, whether it is fenced or otherwise enclosed, the nature of the use of the area, and the efforts the resident takes to screen the area from public view.

   • 2022 March 9, Industry Insider, “A damaging trend”, in RAIL, number 952, page 68:

     High winds are not in themselves a controllable risk. But fallen trees certainly are, given the control the railway has over its own curtilage.

Synonyms

• (area around a house): grounds

Translations

the area immediately surrounding a house

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 宅地 (zh) (zháidì)

• Irish: cúirtealáiste m

See also

• ambit

References

• “curtilage”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• cutigeral, graticule

Middle English

Noun

curtilage

1. Alternative form of curtylage