Curfew

Curfew derives from the 14th century Old French cuevre feu (modern French couvre feu) literally translated as ‘cover fire’. It was a sort of metal plate that covered and extinguished a home fire. In medieval times when the majority of homes were made of wood, fire was always a hazard. Hence, there were regulations by which, at a fixed hour in the evening, bells were rung as a signal that fires were to be extinguished and this was the original curfew. Later, during the late 1600s, it took on the meaning of any restrictive regulation. Shakespeare used the original meaning of curfew in Romeo and Juliet, Act IV, Scene IV, “Well, ‘tis nine o’ clock, ‘tis time to ring curfew.” This was because the play was set in the 1300s.