Origin of the word 'curfew'

For anyone interested in word origins, the following explanation, courtesy of Sarah Rose Werner (Diane's sister), might be interesting. The french word so much in the news these days is "couvre-feu".

Nowadays we think of a curfew as the time by which one has to be inside one's home. However, in medieval Europe the curfew bell was not only a signal to go home - it meant go to bed! When the bell rang, people were supposed to cover their hearth fires, put out their lights and retire for the night. Modern teenagers who complain about having to be off the streets by a certain hour should be informed that it could be a lot worse!

- Sarah Rose Werner