What does curtaining mean?
Curtaining is a noun with two closely related uses: it can denote the fabric or material from which curtains are made — sold by the metre or yard by furnishing retailers — and it can refer more broadly to the practice of dressing windows and openings with curtains. In this second sense, it appears most often in the language of interior design, upholstery, and theatre, where the treatment of a space with drapery is described as its 'curtaining'. The word carries a slightly formal or professional register; ordinary speakers usually say 'curtains' or 'drapes'. Curtaining often connotes richness and finish, especially when paired with fabrics such as velvet or brocade, evoking traditional interiors, theatres, and stately homes. Its etymology ties back through Middle English and Old French to the Latin 'cortina', making it a distant cousin of words like 'court' and 'cohort', which share the root sense of an enclosed space.
nounCurtaining refers to curtain fabric or material used to make curtains, and more broadly to the act of furnishing or covering windows and openings with curtains.
- Curtain material or fabric used for making curtains.
- The act or process of fitting windows with curtains.
"The interior designer chose a heavy velvet curtaining to give the drawing room a sense of old-world grandeur."
"She ordered yards of floral curtaining to brighten up the cottage bedrooms."
"The curtaining of the theatre box seats was restored to its original crimson splendour."
The word 'curtain' ultimately traces back to Latin 'cortina', meaning a rounded vessel or cauldron — a far cry from the fabric that now frames our windows.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of curtaining
The word derives from 'curtain', which entered Middle English from Old French 'cortine', itself from Late Latin 'cortina', originally denoting a rounded vessel or cauldron and later applied metaphorically to the curved draperies surrounding a bed or doorway. The suffix '-ing' formed a noun denoting the material or activity associated with curtains, a pattern seen in words like 'flooring' and 'panelling'. Cognates include French 'courtenat'-derived forms and related Romance words built on the same Latin base.
Related word forms
How curtaining is actually used
Curtaining is somewhat formal or trade-oriented, common among interior designers, upholsterers, and fabric retailers rather than in everyday speech, where 'curtains' or 'drapes' is preferred. It is typically treated as an uncountable noun when referring to fabric.
Easily confused with curtaining
A curtain is an individual piece of fabric hung at a window, while curtaining denotes curtain material collectively or the act of fitting curtains.
Containing means holding something within limits, whereas curtaining relates to window coverings or drapery.