close

{{11}}close (adj.) late 14c., "strictly confined," also "secret," from O.Fr. clos "confined; concealed, secret; taciturn" (12c.), from L. clausus, pp. of claudere "stop up, fasten, shut" (see CLOSE (Cf. close) (v.)); main sense shifting to "near" (late 15c.) by way of "closing the gap between two things." Related: Closely. Close call is 1881; close shave is 1834. Close-up (n.) in photography, etc., is from 1913. Close-minded is attested from 1818.

{{12}}close (n.) late 14c., from CLOSE (Cf. close) (v.).

{{12}}close (v.) c.1200, "to shut, cover in," from O.Fr. clos- (pp. stem of clore "to shut, to cut off from"), 12c., from L. clausus, pp. of claudere "to shut, close; to block up, make inaccessible; put an end to; shut in, enclose, confine," from PIE root *klau- "hook, crooked or forked branch" (used as a bar or bolt in primitive structures); Cf. L. clavis "key," clavus "nail," claustrum "bar, bolt, barrier," claustra "dam, wall, barricade, stronghold;" Gk. kleidos (gen.) "bar, bolt, key," klobos "cage;" O.Ir. clo "nail," M.Ir. clithar "hedge, fence;" O.C.S. kljuДЌi "hook, key," kljuДЌiti "shut;" Lith. kliuti "to catch, be caught on," kliaudziu "check, hinder," kliuvu "clasp, hang;" O.H.G. sliozan "shut," Ger. schließen "to shut," Schlüssel "key." Also partly from O.E. beclysan. Related: CLOSED (Cf. Closed); closing.