clôture

Forms

clôture f (plural clôtures)^[1] Old French closture;^[2][3] Old French also had closure.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French closture, inherited from Late Latin clausūra (“end, then closing, means of closing”), derived from clausus, the past participle of claudō (“to shut”).^[2][4][1] The Latin word gave the regular Old French closure, and the form with ⟨t⟩ was remade after the many words in ⟨-ture⟩.^[2][5][6] The Grand Robert sets up a Vulgar Latin *clausitura for it,^[7] and Littré a form modelled on claustrum.^[3]

Cognate with Italian chiusura.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as closture in Wace's Brut (about 1155), meaning an enclosure.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The first sense, “that which encloses”, covered walls, hedges and fences round a piece of ground.^[2][8] From 1344 it was used specifically of the enclosure of a monastery, which outsiders may not enter, and then of the rule obliging monks and nuns to stay inside it.^[2][8][6] Littré still records the old senses “seclusion” and “discretion, the skill of keeping silent”.^[3]

The figurative sense dates from the 15th century: “the act of ending something” is recorded in 1415, of an account.^[2][5] It is now used of the end of a session, a debate or a festival, and in law and parliamentary procedure.^[9][6] English took cloture from French in 1871 for the closing of a debate by majority vote, first in the French Assembly and then in the House of Commons and the United States Congress.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 1155 – Closture “enclosure” appears in Wace's Brut.^[2]
• 13th century – The Roman de la Rose and Beaumanoir use closture.^[3]
• 1344 – Used of the enclosure of a monastery.^[2]
• 1415 – First record of the sense “act of ending”, of an account.^[2]
• 1795 – The verb clôturer is formed.^[5]
• 1871 – English borrows it as cloture.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fence, wall, hedge or other barrier closing off a piece of land: un mur de clôture.^[6][9]
2. (architecture) A screen enclosing the choir or the chapels of a church.^[2][9]
3. (religion) The enclosure of a monastery, forbidden to outsiders; the rule obliging religious to keep within it: vœu de clôture.^[6][8]
4. The act of ending or closing something: la cérémonie de clôture des Jeux.^[6][9][1]
5. (law, politics) The closing of a debate or procedure in an assembly, cloture.^[9]
6. (stock exchange) The close of a trading session.^[9]

Word family

• clôturer

Related words

• clore
• cloître
• Latin claudo
• English cloture

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 754b
5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d e f Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com