- close (v.)
- c.1200, "to shut, cover in," from Old French clos- (past participle stem of clore "to shut, to cut off from"), 12c., from Latin clausus, past participle 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. Latin clavis "key," clavus "nail," claustrum "bar, bolt, barrier," claustra "dam, wall, barricade, stronghold;" Greek kleidos (genitive) "bar, bolt, key," klobos "cage;" Old Irish clo "nail," Middle Irish clithar "hedge, fence;" Old Church Slavonic ključi "hook, key," ključiti "shut;" Lithuanian kliuti "to catch, be caught on," kliaudziu "check, hinder," kliuvu "clasp, hang;" Old High German sliozan "shut," German schließen "to shut," Schlüssel "key." Also partly from Old English beclysan. Related: Closed; closing.
- close (adj.)
- late 14c., "strictly confined," also "secret," from Old French clos "confined; concealed, secret; taciturn" (12c.), from Latin clausus, past participle of claudere "stop up, fasten, shut" (see 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.
- close (n.)
- late 14c., from close (v.).