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clausura

Etymology and origin of the Latin word clausura

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Itala
Ultimate origin
Latin (claudō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kɫau̯ˈsuː.ra][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [klau̯ˈsuː.ra][1]

Forms

clausūra f (genitive clausūrae); first declension[1] The form clūsūra is the more usual one.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from claudō “to shut”, through its participle ⟨clausus⟩, with the suffix -ūra.[3][1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is the Itala, the Old Latin Bible, after 220 AD.[4] The TLL cites it from the Itala, Vegetius, Chiron, the Vulgate and Augustine.[2]

Semantic evolution

In classical Latin it apparently meant the clasp of a necklace.[3]

Medieval Latin used it for a lock, a fence, a cattle park, an enclosed vineyard or field, fencing wood, the right to enclose land, a frontier, a mountain pass, and a toll.[5] Ecclesiastical Latin uses it for a cloister, an enclosure.[6] It survives in Italian chiusura and French clôture, and through Old French closure it gave English closure in the late 14th century, first “a barrier, a fence”, and French clôture gave English cloture in 1871.[1][7]

Timeline

  • after 220 AD – The Itala uses it.[4]
  • late 14th century – English closure is recorded.[7]
  • 1871 – English cloture is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The clasp of a necklace.[3]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A lock; a fence; an enclosed field.[5]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A frontier; a mountain pass.[5]
  4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A cloister, enclosure.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Clausura.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/clausura. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·