clos

Forms

clos (feminine close, masculine plural clos, feminine plural closes)^[1] The noun is invariable (un clos, des clos).^[1] Anglo-Norman also wrote it close and cloz.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French clos, the past participle of clore, inherited from Latin clausus (“closed”), past participle of claudō (“to shut”).^[1][3][4] The adjective is recorded about 1130.^[4][5] The masculine was used as a noun from about 1150, probably after Medieval Latin clausum (“enclosed cultivated field”) (721), the neuter participle used as a noun, which in classical Latin meant an enclosed space.^[6][4][7]

Meyer-Lübke lists outcomes of the Latin word in other Romance speech, among them Milanese and Comasco forms for an enclosed plot or vineyard.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adjective means “shut, closed” from about 1130.^[4][5] The noun first appears about 1150 in the Roman de Thèbes for a piece of cultivated land fenced in.^[6]

Semantic evolution

While the verb clore gave way to fermer, the participle stayed in use and entered figurative phrases such as à la nuit close “when night has fully fallen” and maison close, a euphemism for a brothel (1931).^[4][5] It also means “finished, concluded”, of a meeting or a matter.^[5]

The noun named an enclosed cultivated field, and especially a vineyard, as in the names of Burgundy wines.^[5][9] In European French it has become old-fashioned for “field, meadow”, but in Quebec it is the usual word for an enclosure or field, notably a pasture, and prendre le clos is said of a car leaving the road.^[4] In Louisiana French a clos is a cultivated field, fenced or not.^[10] English took the noun as close “enclosure”, recorded in the late 13th century.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 1130 – First record of the adjective.^[4][5]
• c. 1150 – The noun appears in the Roman de Thèbes.^[6]
• Late 13th century – English close “enclosure” is recorded from the French noun.^[11]
• 1449 – The derivative closerie is first recorded.^[3][4]
• 1931 – Maison close “brothel” is first recorded.^[5][4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Closed, shut: volets clos, à huis clos “behind closed doors”, trouver porte close “to find nobody in”, maison close “brothel”, en vase clos “cut off from outside influence”.^[5][12]
2. Finished, concluded: la discussion est close.^[5]

Noun

1. A piece of cultivated land enclosed by hedges, walls or ditches, especially a vineyard.^[5][9]
2. (Quebec) A field or enclosure, especially a pasture.^[4]
3. (Louisiana) A cultivated field, fenced or not.^[10]

Word family

• closerie
• mi-clos

Related words

• cloison
• enclos
• clore
• éclore
• Latin claudō
• English close

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
3. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c 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
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 755b
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b Base de données lexicographiques panfrancophone (BDLP), Trésor de la langue française au Québec / Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, bdlp.org
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse