Etymograph

English

close

Close comes from Middle English closen ‘to close, enclose’, an altered form of clusen, from Old English clȳsan ‘to close, shut’, and ultimately from Latin claudō ‘to shut’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂w-1‘key, hook, nail’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klaudō1‘to close’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudō1‘to shut’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclausus2as clūsus‘closed’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEclūsa2‘closure’
  6. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klūsā3‘enclosure’reconstructed
  7. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klūsijan4‘to enclose’reconstructed
  8. Old Englishc. 450–1150clȳsan5‘to close, shut’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clusen5‘to close’
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500closen5‘to close, enclose’
  11. Englishearliest quotation c. 1597close5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin clausus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *klūsā
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *klūsijan
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Old English clysan
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English close
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]: “The intestine shocke, And furious cloze of ciuill Butchery.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂w-Wiktionary, Latin clausus‘key, hook, nail’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klaudōWiktionary, Latin clausus‘to close’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudōWiktionary, Latin clausus‘to shut’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaususWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *klūsāas clūsus‘closed’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEclūsaWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *klūsā‘closure’
  6. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klūsāWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *klūsijan‘enclosure’reconstructed
  7. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klūsijanWiktionary, Old English clysan‘to enclose’reconstructed
  8. Old Englishc. 450–1150clȳsanWiktionary, English close‘to close, shut’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clusenWiktionary, English close‘to close’
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500closenWiktionary, English close‘to close, enclose’
  11. Englishearliest quotation c. 1597closeWiktionary, English close. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]: “The intestine shocke, And furious cloze of ciuill Butchery.”

The story

Partially replaced Old English lūcan (‘to close, lock, enclose’), (whence English lock).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- ‘to close something’

include, cataract, conclave, subclavian, 30 more

through Proto-Italic *klaudō ‘to close’

inclusiveness, 28 more

through Latin claudō ‘to shut, close’

exclusive, conclusion, inclusion, inclusive, conclude, exclude, closure, preclude, sluice, occlusion, recluse, claustrophobia, cloister, 30 more

through Latin clausus ‘closed, enclosed, locked up’

clause, cloture, 6 more

Another origin of close

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂w-‘key, hook, nail’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klaudō‘to close’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudō‘to shut, close’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclausus‘shut, closed’perfect passive participle of claudō
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclausum
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentclos
  7. Englishtodayclose

Today it means

verb To move a thing, or part of a thing, nearer to another so that the gap or opening between the two is removed.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “close”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin clausus, Proto-West Germanic *klūsā, Proto-West Germanic *klūsijan, Old English clysan. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- / close

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