Plural of curfew; orders or regulations that require people to stay indoors or off the streets during certain hours, especially at night.
From Old French 'couvre-feu' (literally 'cover fire'), a medieval regulation requiring the extinguishing of fires and lights in the evening. The term entered English during the Norman period and evolved to mean time-based restrictions on movement.
Curfew comes from the medieval practice of ringing a bell to tell people to cover their fires before bed—that fire safety rule became the basis for how modern governments restrict movement at night!
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