Close (?), v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Closed (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Closing.] [From OF. & F. clos, p. p. of
clore to close, fr. L. claudere; akin to G.
schliessen to shut, and to E. clot,
cloister, clavicle, conclude, sluice.
Cf. Clause, n.] 1.
To stop, or fill up, as an opening; to shut; as, to
close the eyes; to close a door.
2. To bring together the parts of; to
consolidate; as, to close the ranks of an army; -- often
used with up.
3. To bring to an end or period; to
conclude; to complete; to finish; to end; to consummate; as, to
close a bargain; to close a course of
instruction.
One frugal supper did our studies
close.
Dryden.
4. To come or gather around; to inclose;
to encompass; to confine.
The depth closed me round about.
Jonah ii. 5.
But now thou dost thyself immure and
close
In some one corner of a feeble heart.
Herbert.
A closed sea, a sea within the
jurisdiction of some particular nation, which controls its
navigation.
Close, v. i. 1.
To come together; to unite or coalesce, as the parts of a
wound, or parts separated.
What deep wounds ever closed without a
scar?
Byron.
2. To end, terminate, or come to a
period; as, the debate closed at six o'clock.
3. To grapple; to engage in hand-to-hand
fight.
They boldly closed in a hand-to-hand
contest.
Prescott.
To close on or upon,
to come to a mutual agreement; to agree on or join in.
"Would induce France and Holland to close upon some
measures between them to our disadvantage." Sir W. Temple.
-- To close with. (a) To
accede to; to consent or agree to; as, to close with the
terms proposed. (b) To make an agreement
with. -- To close with the land
(Naut.), to approach the land.
Close (?), n. 1.
The manner of shutting; the union of parts; junction.
[Obs.]
The doors of plank were; their close
exquisite.
Chapman.
2. Conclusion; cessation; ending;
end.
His long and troubled life was drawing to a
close.
Macaulay.
3. A grapple in wrestling.
Bacon.
4. (Mus.) (a) The
conclusion of a strain of music; cadence.
(b) A double bar marking the end.
At every close she made, the attending
throng
Replied, and bore the burden of the song.
Dryden.
Syn. -- Conclusion; termination; cessation; end;
ending; extremity; extreme.
Close (? or ?), n. [OF. & F.
clos an inclosure, fr. clos, p. p. of clore.
See Close, v. t.] 1.
An inclosed place; especially, a small field or piece of
land surrounded by a wall, hedge, or fence of any kind; --
specifically, the precinct of a cathedral or abbey.
Closes surrounded by the venerable abodes
of deans and canons.
Macaulay.
2. A narrow passage leading from a street
to a court, and the houses within. [Eng.]
Halliwell
3. (Law) The interest which one
may have in a piece of ground, even though it is not
inclosed. Bouvier.
Close (?), a.
[Compar. Closer (?);
superl. Closest.] [Of. & F. clos,
p. p. of clore. See Close, v. t.]
1. Shut fast; closed; tight; as, a
close box.
From a close bower this dainty music
flowed.
Dryden.
2. Narrow; confined; as, a close
alley; close quarters. "A close prison."
Dickens.
3. Oppressive; without motion or
ventilation; causing a feeling of lassitude; -- said of the air,
weather, etc.
If the rooms be low-roofed, or full of windows and
doors, the one maketh the air close, . . . and the other
maketh it exceeding unequal.
Bacon.
4. Strictly confined; carefully quarded;
as, a close prisoner.
5. Out of the way observation; secluded;
secret; hidden. "He yet kept himself close because
of Saul." 1 Chron. xii. 1
"Her close intent."
Spenser.
6. Disposed to keep secrets; secretive;
reticent. "For secrecy, no lady closer."
Shak.
7. Having the parts near each other;
dense; solid; compact; as applied to bodies; viscous; tenacious;
not volatile, as applied to liquids.
The golden globe being put into a press, . . . the
water made itself way through the pores of that very close
metal.
Locke.
8. Concise; to the point; as,
close reasoning. "Where the original is close
no version can reach it in the same compass." Dryden.
9. Adjoining; near; either in space;
time, or thought; -- often followed by to.
Plant the spring crocuses close to a
wall.
Mortimer.
The thought of the Man of sorrows seemed a very
close thing -- not a faint hearsay.
G. Eliot.
10. Short; as, to cut grass or hair
close.
11. Intimate; familiar;
confidential.
League with you I seek
And mutual amity, so strait, so close,
That I with you must dwell, or you with me.
Milton.
12. Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced;
as, a close vote. "A close contest."
Prescott.
13. Difficult to obtain; as, money is
close. Bartlett.
14. Parsimonious; stingy. "A crusty
old fellow, as close as a vise." Hawthorne.
15. Adhering strictly to a standard or
original; exact; strict; as, a close translation.
Locke.
16. Accurate; careful; precise; also,
attentive; undeviating; strict; not wandering; as, a close
observer.
17. (Phon.) Uttered with a
relatively contracted opening of the mouth, as certain sounds of
e and o in French, Italian, and German; -- opposed
to open.
Close borough. See under
Borough. -- Close breeding. See
under Breeding. -- Close communion,
communion in the Lord's supper, restricted to those who have
received baptism by immersion. -- Close
corporation, a body or corporation which fills its
own vacancies. -- Close fertilization.
(Bot.) See Fertilization. -- Close
harmony (Mus.), compact harmony, in which
the tones composing each chord are not widely distributed over
several octaves. -- Close time, a
fixed period during which killing game or catching certain fish
is prohibited by law. -- Close vowel
(Pron.), a vowel which is pronounced with a diminished
aperture of the lips, or with contraction of the cavity of the
mouth. -- Close to the wind
(Naut.), directed as nearly to the point from which
the wind blows as it is possible to sail; closehauled; -- said of
a vessel.
Close (?), adv. 1.
In a close manner.
2. Secretly; darkly. [Obs.]
A wondrous vision which did close imply
The course of all her fortune and posterity.
Spenser.
