curtilage
curtilage (k[schwa]r-t[schwa]-lij). The land or yard adjoining a house, usu. within an enclosure. • Under the Fourth Amendment, the curtilage is an area usu. protected from warrantless searches. — Also termed (in Latin) curtillium. See OPEN-FIELDS DOCTRINE. Cf. MESSUAGE. [Cases: Searches and Seizures 27. C.J.S. Searches and Seizures §§ 36, 71.]