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/kloʊz/ (verb); /kloʊs/ (adjective, noun)Shut, finish, or bring near together
From Proto-Indo-European *klau- / *kleh (Hook).
from PIE root *klau- "hook," also "peg, nail, pin," all things used as locks or bolts in primitive structures. Also...
+1 more sourcefrom Latin clausus , past participle of claudere "to shut, close; to block up, make inaccessible; put an end to; shut...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French clos- (past participle stem of clore "to shut, to cut off from"), 12c.
+1 more sourcefrom Old French clos- (past participle stem of clore "to shut, to cut off from"), 12c.
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from PIE root *klau- "hook," also "peg, nail, pin," all things used as locks or bolts in primitive structures. Also...
+1 more sourcefrom Latin clausus , past participle of claudere "to shut, close; to block up, make inaccessible; put an end to; shut...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French clos- (past participle stem of clore "to shut, to cut off from"), 12c.
+1 more sourcefrom Old French clos- (past participle stem of clore "to shut, to cut off from"), 12c.
+1 more sourceA primitive lock may have been little more than a hook, peg, or nail—and that humble hardware sits behind close. Latin claudere meant not only “shut” but also “block up,” “confine,” and “bring to an end,” which explains why a door, a meeting, and a business deal can all be closed. Around 1200, French clos and its stem clos- entered English, while Old English clȳsan was also working in the background; the modern word is partly a Norman-French newcomer and partly an altered native survival. Its relatives preserve the old barrier: a clause was originally a “closing” or conclusion, and a claustrum was a shut-in place, later a cloister. In 1879, physician Benjamin Ball coined claustrophobia for fear of such confinement—so every time you close a door, you are faintly reenacting the logic of an ancient key, hook, or nail.
The Story
A primitive lock may have been little more than a hook, peg, or nail—and that humble hardware sits behind close. Latin claudere meant not only “shut” but also “block up,” “confine,” and “bring to an end,” which explains why a door, a meeting, and a business deal can all be closed. Around 1200, French clos and its stem clos- entered English, while Old English clȳsan was also working in the background; the modern word is partly a Norman-French newcomer and partly an altered native survival. Its relatives preserve the old barrier: a clause was originally a “closing” or conclusion, and a claustrum was a shut-in place, later a cloister. In 1879, physician Benjamin Ball coined claustrophobia for fear of such confinement—so every time you close a door, you are faintly reenacting the logic of an ancient key, hook, or nail.
Modern Usage
In some slang usage, to have sex or “knock boots.”
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entry describing “close the deal” as a sexual euphemism
Kin & Kindred
From '*klau- / *kleh'·Hook, key, nail; something used to fasten or bar
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary