An archaic or rare verb form meaning to curtail, shorten, or make curt.
From curt or curtal with the verb-forming suffix -ise/-ize (from Greek -izein). This represents an attempt to create a verb from the adjective curt, following standard English derivational patterns.
English speakers often try to 'verbify' adjectives by adding -ise or -ize (like 'optimize' from 'optimum'), but curtise never caught on—we use 'curtail' instead, showing how some morphological attempts succeed while others fail!
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