closure English · revision 7607

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1386|origins=la claudo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkləʊ.ʒə(ɹ)/ ''(UK)''; /ˈkloʊ.ʒɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English, [[bor|fro|closure|t=enclosure, fastening, wall, fence]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from Late Latin [[m|la-lat|clausura|t=lock, fortress, a closing]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from the past participle stem of [[m|la|claudo|alt=claudere|t=to close]] (see [[close]]).^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ That which encloses, a fence or barrier: about 1386 in the OED, the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ An entrenchment or fort (before 1400–50) and an enclosed place (1386) are obsolete senses.^(OED 1989) The act of enclosing or confining is from about 1420,^(OED 1989) and the act of closing or bringing to a close from 1600 (the early 15th century in Etymonline).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Hoad treats the sense conclusion as a new formation on close in the 16th century.^(Hoad 1986) In legislation it is the stopping of debate by a vote (compare [[cloture]]).^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023) In Gestalt psychology, the tendency to form ordered, satisfying wholes is from 1924,^(Etymonline) and the chiefly American sense, a feeling of resolution after a painful event, is later.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1386 – a barrier.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1420 – enclosure.^(OED 1989)

+ * 16th century – a conclusion.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1600 – the act of closing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1924 – in Gestalt psychology.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of closing, or the state of being closed.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something that closes or seals, such as a cap.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An end or [[conclusion]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A procedure for ending a debate and taking a vote; [[cloture]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chiefly US)'' A sense of resolution after a distressing experience.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[foreclosure]]

+ * [[nonclosure]]

+ * [[preclosure]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[close]]

+ * [[cloture]]

+ * [[clause]]

+ * [[enclosure]]

+ * [[cloister]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}