disclose English · revision 16182

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a. 1393, Gower, Confessio Amantis|origins=la claudō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dɪsˈkləʊz/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|disclosen]] (also [[m|enm|desclosen]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) [[bor|xno|disclos-]] and Middle French [[m|frm|desclos-]], the stem of [[m|fro|desclore|t=to open, unlock, reveal]] (modern [[fr|déclore]]),^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|fro|des-]] and [[m|fro|clore|t=to close]],^(AHD 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[la|claudō|t=to close]].^(AHD 2024)^(Klein 1966)^(ODE 2010) Merriam-Webster and Skeat put [[la-med|disclaudō|t=to open]] between them.^(MWU 2024)^(Skeat 1911)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Both the physical sense, to uncover and expose to view, and the sense to make known, especially something secret, appear before 1393 in Gower's ''Confessio Amantis''.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Several physical senses died out: to open up or unfold something closed, especially of buds and flowers (about 1440 to 1861),^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) and to hatch young from an egg (about 1450 to 1899).^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) An intransitive use, of news, to come to light, lasted from about 1513 to 1737.^(OED 2026) The sense of making information known became the main one.^(OED 2026)^(AHD 2024) ''[[disclosure]]'', formed in English on the model of ''[[closure]]'', is from before 1598.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 1393 – to uncover; to make known.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1440 – to open up, unfold (obsolete by 1861).^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1450 – to hatch (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1548 – a noun ''disclose'', disclosure (obsolete).^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED)

+ * before 1598 – ''disclosure''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make known something that was secret or private; to [[reveal]].^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To expose to view, as by removing a [[cover]]; to [[uncover]].^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[disclosable]]

+ * [[discloser]]

+ * [[predisclose]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[disclosure]]

+ * [[close]]

+ * [[closure]]

+ * [[clause]]

+ * [[enclose]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}