Dictionary

Iron Curtain en · PROPN

Pronunciation

• /ˌaɪən ˈkɜː.tən/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˌaɪ(ə)ɹn ˈkɜɹ.tən/ (General-American)
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

A specialized use of iron curtain (“(figurative) impenetrable barrier”), probably partly a calque of German eiserner Vorhang which was used in speeches in the 1940s that were translated into English. The English term appeared in telegrams from the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874–1965) to the United States President Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) in 1945, before being popularized in a speech given by Churchill at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, on March 5, 1946.

Meanings

1. (historical) The dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War (1947–1991).
   • Justice is giving ground to the forces of evil. These developments have confused the camp of freedom and abetted the growth of Communism. Even so, the fierce struggle for freedom of the people shut behind the Iron Curtain and the support for their emancipation provided by peace-loving people outside the Iron Curtain have never ceased despite the buffeting from waves of appeasement. 1973 July 17 (date delivered), Chiang Kai-shek, “President Chiang Kai-shek’s Message to the Mass Rally Supporting Captive Nations Week”, in L. Y. Chen, editor, Free China Weekly, volume XIV, number 28, Taipei, Taiwan: Chung Hwa Information Service, published 22 July 1973, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1, columns 1–2:
   • An iron curtain is drawn down upon their [Russia's] front. We do not know what is going on behind. 1945 May 12, Winston Churchill, “No. 6: Leahy Papers: Telegram: Prime Minister Churchill to President [Harry S.] Truman”, in Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers: The Conference of Berlin (The Potsdam Conference) 1945 […] (86th Congress, 1st Session, House Document; no. 161, vol I; Department of State Publication; 7015), volume I, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, published 1960, →OCLC, paragraph 3, page 9:
   • Now, we are not in a new Cold War. We don't see the descending of a new Iron Curtain, but we have moved back very, very sharply in the wrong direction. We must work with the many Russian democrats still functioning in and out of government, in and out of Parliament, in and out of the business community, to make the dream of a Russian democracy become a reality. 2007 May 17, Tom Lantos, Russia: Rebuilding the Iron Curtain: Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, First Session […] (Serial No. 110-65), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →ISBN, page 3:
   • In the east the iron curtain behind which, unseen by the eyes of the world, the work of destruction goes on, is moving steadily forward. 1945 May 3, Court Schwerin von Krosigk [i.e., Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk], “New foreign minister broadcasts”, in [anonymous], transl., The Manchester Guardian, number 30,757, Manchester: […] John Russell Scott for the Manchester Guardian & Evening News, […], →OCLC, page 5, column 6:
   • From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. 1946 March 5, Winston Churchill, “The Sinews of Peace”, in Westminster College Bulletin: World Spotlight Turns on Westminster, series 46, number 1, Fulton, Mo.: Westminster College, published April 1946, →OCLC, column 1:
   • Indeed, rail traffic of all kinds is developing through the Iron Curtain – for instance, last year a total of 6,445 wagons controlled by Interfrigo, the international company for refrigerated transport, passed between East and West; […] 1960 March, “Talking of Trains: London–Paris in Four Hours”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 134:
   • […] Christopher Hill, one of the Western critics whose works were cited and appreciated behind the Iron Curtain throughout the decades of state socialism. 2022, Miklós Péti, “Samson: An Unlikely Hero of Socialism”, in Timothy Mathews, editor, Paradise from behind the Iron Curtain: Reading, Translating and Staging Milton in Communist Hungary (Literature and Translation), London: UCL Press, →DOI, →ISBN, page 68:
   • We liked the plain people of Russia wherever we met them. […] We were behind the "iron curtain" at last! 1920, Mrs. Philip Snowden [i.e., Ethel Snowden], “Making Our Plans”, in Through Bolshevik Russia, London; New York, N.Y.: Cassell and Company, →OCLC, pages 31 and 32:

Forms

Coordinates

silicon curtain · Bamboo Curtain

Translations (87)

ky темир көшөгө (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · nn jarnteppet (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ca Teló d'Acer (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · fr rideau de fer (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · hi लौह पर्दा (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · eo fera kurteno (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · sh жељезна завјеса (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · hy երկաթե վարագույր (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · it cortina di ferro (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · lb Eisene Rideau (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · sh gvozdena zavesa (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · tg пардаи оҳанин (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · uz temir parda (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · cs železná opona (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ml അയൺ കർട്ടൻ (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · lv dzelzs priekškars (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · nl ijzeren gordijn (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · es Telón de Acero (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · da jerntæppe (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · fi rautaesirippu (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · io fera kurteno (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · km វាំងននដែក (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ia cortina de ferro (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · az dəmir pərdə (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · be жале́зная засло́на (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · lt geležinė uždanga (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · th ม่านเหล็ก (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · mt Purtiera tal-Ħadid (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · tl Kurtinang Bakal (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · br rideoz houarn (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · tr demir perde (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · tk demir perde (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · oc ridèl de fèrre (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · uk залі́зна заві́са (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ur آہنی پردہ (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ht rido fè (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ro cortină de fier (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · et raudne eesriie (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ar سِتَار حَدِيدِيّ (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · cy Llen Haearn (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · el σιδηρούν παραπέτασμα (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · mk железна завеса (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · yi אײַזערנער פֿירהאַנג (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · eu Altzairuzko oihala (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · fa پردهٔ آهنین (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · hu vasfüggöny (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ru желе́зный за́навес (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · tl Kortinang Bakal (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · cmn 鐵幕 /铁幕 (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ta இரும்புத் திரை (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ja 鉄のカーテン (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ug تۆمۈر پەردە (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · sv järnridå (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · pnb آہنی پردہ (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · bg желя́зна заве́са (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · sh železna zavesa (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ast cortina de fierro (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · sl železna zavesa (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · mn төмөр хөшиг (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · gl pano de aceiro (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · he מָסַךְ הַבַּרְזֶל (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · pl żelazna kurtyna (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · gd Cùirtear Iarainn (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · nb jernteppe (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · id Tirai Besi (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · de eiserner Vorhang (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · de Eiserner Vorhang (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ka რკინის ფარდა (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · bar Eiserner Vorhang (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · pt Cortina de Ferro (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · kk темір перде (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · vi bức màn sắt (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ar السِتَار الحَدِيدِي (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · nl IJzeren Gordijn (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · af Ystergordyn (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · nn jernteppet (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · sh железна завеса (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · is járntjald (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · es Cortina de Hierro (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ko 철의 장막 (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · sh željezna zavjesa (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · war Puthaw nga Kurtina (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · sk železná opona (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · fy Izeren Gerdyn (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · ms Tirai Besi (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · sh гвоздена завеса (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War) · nb jernteppet (dividing line between Western Europe and the Soviet-controlled regions, especially during the Cold War)

wikipedia: Fulton, Missouri · wikipedia: Winston Churchill · wikipedia: Harry S. Truman · wikipedia: Westminster College (Missouri)