closedadj.
/kləʊzd/, U.S. /kloʊzd/ 1. Made close, shut; spec. confined to a few people; limited by certain conditions; self-contained. (Cf. close adj. 9 and sense 2 below.) Also with adverbs as closed in, closed out. closed syllable, one ending in a consonant, as the first and third of Latin fes-tī-nat.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > [adjective] > keeping or shutting out > kept or shut out
closed outc1275
unadmitted1616
excluded1672
locked-outa1847
outshut1868
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > [adjective] > enclosed
closedc1275
clausedc1440
conclosec1450
close1489
caseda1500
enclosed1552
included1552
bayed1577
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > [adjective] > closed or shut
lokenOE
yclosed1377
luckena1400
speareda1400
closec1400
shut1474
yschutte?a1475
parrocked?1510
closed1526
folded1570
occluse1601
shut-up1614
steeked1709
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > [noun] > syllabic sound > syllable > type of
breve1548
brief?1560
suppletive1666
alienisparsison1856
fortisparsison1856
gravisparsison1856
closed syllable1881
nonsense syllable1885
pre-head1958
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > [adjective] > special or private > not public
privatea1398
close1812
closed1887
closed door1934
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restriction or limitation > [adjective] > restricted or limited > to a few or a group
close1812
closed1887
closed door1934
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6399 Heo weoren in castle oðer y burhȝe iclused [c1300 Otho bi-clused] uaste.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 83 Closyd yn, inclusus.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 83 Closyd owte, exclusus, seclusus.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 11 A cloysterer or a closyd recluse.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. UUUiiv Closed & festred woundes.
1881 S. J. Whitmee in Trans. Victoria Instit. 20 Many of the syllables are closed.
1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 1 Nov. 2/2 In many cases a boy is sent for a closed (or partially closed) exhibition, who might get an open scholarship.
1927 A. M. Carr-Saunders & D. C. Jones Surv. Social Struct. Eng. & Wales 82 There are a number of professions which are ‘closed’. Complete closure exists when, as among dentists, certain functions and certain titles are legally reserved to persons whose names appear upon a statutory register.
1963 M. Ginsberg in Advancem. Sci. 19 418/2 We have to distinguish between ‘open’ and ‘closed’ ideologies.
1963 P. Drackett Motor Rallying 77 Closed and restricted trials and rallies.
1964 M. A. K. Halliday et al. Ling. Sci. ii. 22 It is not the case..that all choices in language are clearly of one type or the other, closed or open.
2. Mathematics.
a. Of a set of points: containing all its limit points. Of an interval: containing all its end points.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > point > [adjective]
umbilical1728
polar1813
umbilicar1843
connectant1863
stigmatic1863
cuspidal1874
tropal1875
cusped1879
copunctal1896
open1896
perfect1897
closed1902
1902 Proc. London Math. Soc. 34 289 Every example of such a set [of points] is theoretically obtainable in this way. For..it cannot be closed, as it would then be perfect and nowhere dense.
1968 P. A. P. Moran Introd. Probability Theory iv. 184 In one-dimensional Euclidean space R1 an interval (a ≦ x ≦ b), which contains its end points, is closed, and in Rn the sphere Σxi2 ≦ d is closed.
b. Of a set of elements: having the property that any element produced by a (specified) allowed operation on elements of the set is also a member of the set; also used of the operation.
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the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [adjective] > of sets
tantipartite1858
connected1893
measurable1901
ordered1901
well-ordered1901
null1903
empty1905
closed1909
orthonormal1928
matroid1935
recursively enumerable1936
simple1936
disjoint1937
partially ordered1941
1909 in Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang.
1939 H. Weyl Classical Groups i. 1 k is any set of elements α, called numbers, closed with respect to the two binary operations: addition and multiplication.
1965 E. M. Patterson & D. E. Rutherford Elem. Abstr. Algebra i. 20 For a closed associative binary operation, the set of elements which possess inverses is closed with respect to the operation.
Compounds
Special combinations.
closed book n. something unknown or uncomprehended (cf. open book n.).
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the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > [noun] > instance of
lock1563
incomprehensibility1651
inscrutables1665
incomprehensible1678
inconceivable1706
I know not what1711
unknowable1725
unsearchable1725
indefinable1810
a sealed book1814
unknowable1816
unintelligible1838
inconceivability1851
imponderable1855
inscrutablenessa1864
unfathomability1867
unthinkable1871
closed book1913
intangible1914
imponderabilia1925
generation gap1962
1913 ‘S. Rohmer’ Myst. Dr. Fu-Manchu xxviii. 282 The soul of Kâramanèh was a closed book to my shortsighted Western eyes.
1926 J. S. Huxley Ess. Pop. Sci. xiii. 163 To whom much of art is a closed book.
1944 F. Clune Red Heart 35 The desert is an open book to the man of the Vast Open Spaces, but to the schoolmaster it was a closed book.
closed circuit n. a complete, unbroken circuit; frequently attributive; spec. (a) a complete electrical circuit formed entirely of conductive material; (b) a system of radio or television whereby the signal is transmitted by wire to the receiver and not broadcast for general reception; (c) a breathing apparatus that converts exhaled gases into oxygen for inhaling.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > broadcasting > [noun] > systems or methods
closed circuit1827
hookup1903
network1914
narrowcasting1924
rediffusion1931
networking1940
digital1978
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > circuit > [noun] > unbroken
closed circuit1827
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > circuit > [adjective] > completed
closed circuit1827
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > electronic circuit > [noun] > other electronic circuits
closed circuit1827
magnetic circuit1853
earth return1869
control circuit1892
Armstrong1916
rejector circuit1919
rejector1920
acceptor1921
biotron1921
stabilizer1924
ring modulator1936
squelch1937
load1943
multiar1946
clamp1947
integrating circuit1948
matrix1948
AND gate1959
biocircuit1963
society > communication > broadcasting > [adjective] > systems or methods > closed-circuit
closed circuit1941
off-air1961
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > electronic circuit > [adjective]
coupledc1440
inductive-coupled1913
closed circuit1941
printed1946
bistable1949
astable1951
busy-idle1951
monolithic1963
optocoupled1976
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > [noun] > means of protection or defence > device or contrivance to protect a thing or person > protection worn on face > respirator
mouthpiece1790
nosebag1834
respirator1836
inhaler1864
smoke respirator1866
aerophore1876
open circuit1876
inspirator1898
muzzle1899
smoke helmet1900
gas helmet1910
gas mask1915
mask1915
oxygen mask1920
inhalator1929
closed circuit1953
1827 J. Cumming Man. Electro Dynamics 230 If a series of galvanic elements be placed in order round the circumference of a circle, and forming a closed circuit, a current will circulate in it continually.
1832 Nat. Philos. (Libr. Useful Knowl.) II. Electro-magnetism xi. §232 When an electric current, after traversing a certain line..returns upon itself..it has been denominated a closed circuit.
1925 P. J. Risdon Crystal Receivers & Circuits 22 It should perhaps be explained here that an aerial circuit is known as an ‘open’ circuit, and a receiver circuit as a ‘closed’ circuit.
1930 Engineering 28 Feb. 279/2 The fire-alarm system is of the pre-signal, electrically supervised, closed-circuit, code-ringing type.
1941 B.B.C. Gloss. Broadcasting Terms 6 Closed circuit, channel between microphone and loudspeaker, or between microphone and recording unit, for testing, rehearsal, or other purposes not involving broadcast transmission. Hence closed-circuit recording.
1946 T. H. Hutchinson Here is Television 363 Closed circuit. The picture is not broadcast, but fed to viewing screens at certain locations by wire.
1951 Time 25 June 49/1 Though not telecast over the air, the Louis–Savold fight was experimentally piped by coaxial cable over closed circuits to six cities.
1953 J. Hunt Ascent of Everest 257 Three principal types of (oxygen) apparatus were used: Open-Circuit, Closed-Circuit and Sleeping Sets.
1954 B. North & R. North tr. M. Duverger Polit. Parties i. iii. 152 Here the parliamentary representatives are chosen by the inner circle; the party in this case is a closed circuit.
1957 Times 22 Oct. 10/1 Later their occupants watched and heard the after-dinner speakers on closed-circuit television.
closed cycle n. a cycle of operations in which the same fuel, cooling fluid, etc., is used repeatedly; also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > [adjective] > relating to repeated use of fuel or fluid
closed cycle1950
the world > action or operation > [noun] > a form or kind of operation > with repeated use of fuel or fluid
closed cycle1950
the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > nuclear fission > nuclear fuel > [noun] > cycle using same materials
closed cycle1950
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > steam engine > [noun] > cycle using same fuel
closed cycle1950
1950 Jane's Fighting Ships 1950–51 A 5/2 Closed-cycle powered submarine, 2,000 tons—no external sources of oxygen.
1957 Gloss. Terms Nuclear Sci. 30/2 Closed cycle, cycle of operation of a heat engine in which the same power fluid is used repeatedly, as a steam engine that condenses the steam for reuse... Also applicable to a cooling system in which the coolant is cycled repeatedly through the source of heat, itself being cooled in another part of the cycle.
1960 Gloss. Atomic Terms (H.M.S.O.) 13 Closed cycle, usually refers to reactor coolant circuit where the gas or liquid travels in a completely enclosed path.
closed door n. figurative an obstacle, impasse, restriction; also attributive or quasi-adj., restricted, obstructive, secret.
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the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > hindering completely or preventing > [noun] > that which
lockeOE
floodgatec1230
stopc1508
staya1533
snub1581
prevention1584
embarment1606
allay1607
spar1614
counterchecka1616
gag1618
preventivea1639
check1661
preventative1691
embargo1692
closed door1934
policeman1951
block-
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > [adjective] > special or private > not public
privatea1398
close1812
closed1887
closed door1934
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restriction or limitation > [adjective] > restricted or limited > to a few or a group
close1812
closed1887
closed door1934
1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Closed door, restriction, esp. in the colonies and spheres of influence, of the land laws, concessions, tariffs, etc., in favor of the nationals of the controlling power...closed-door, adj.
1950 N.Y. Times 20 Apr. 1/1 Today's closed-door session, which began the decisive phase in the committee's long deliberations.
1955 H. Roth Sleeper ii. 19 This [court martial]..had been so closed-door, so hush-hush, so big-brass.
1956 A. H. Compton Atomic Quest 323 There are no closed doors in the field of nuclear engineering.
1960 Times 9 Feb. 17/5 The old protectionist closed-door policy.
closed-end adj. originally U.S. of an investment trust or the like: see quot. 1954.
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society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > stocks, shares, or bonds > [adjective] > types of investment trust
open-end1931
closed-end1952
no-load1959
tokkin1985
1952 Time 12 May 41 The Fund began as a ‘closed-end’ trust (i.e., issuing a limited number of shares).
1954 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Add. Closed-end adj., of an investment trust, operating with its initial capital changed only by new issues or retirements, not by redemption of shares; opp. to open-end.
1958 Spectator 20 June 815/3 The three leading ‘closed-end’ investment trusts.
closed-loop adj. characterized by a feed-back from a later to an earlier point in a cycle of operation.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > types of machine generally > [adjective] > other types
stout1702
multiplying1767
reciprocating1768
locomotive1800
centripetal1835
self-contained1839
uniplane1843
high-speed1844
powered1847
flexible1859
undergrounda1884
chip-proof1901
portable1913
batch1940
closed-loop1958
interactive1967
1958 New Biol. 26 107 A closed-loop machine is one that feeds a part of its own output back into itself.
1960 Times 9 Nov. 16/4 The introduction of closed-loop models from control engineering.
1962 J. H. Simpson & R. S. Richards Physical Princ. Junction Transistors xiii. 296 The voltage gain is therefore changed from A to A/(—AB) by the feedback. The latter value is often called the closed-loop voltage gain.
closed shop n. originally U.S. a shop, factory, trade, etc., in which normally only trade-union members are employed; also transferred and attributive.
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society > occupation and work > [noun] > regular occupation, trade, or profession > trade or industry > trade-union only
union shop1834
closed shop1904
society > occupation and work > workplace > types of workplace generally > [noun] > for union or non-union workers
union shop1834
closed shop1904
1904 N.Y. Evening Post 15 Aug. 1 An increase in wages, recognition of the union, and ‘closed shops’ are demanded.
1923 J. D. Hackett Labor Terms in Managem. Engineering 4 343/1 Closed shop, a plant in which only union men, or prospective union men are hired.
1947 Ann. Reg. 1946 85 The expression ‘closed shop’ was an inaccurate term to use in describing the aims of the trade unions in dealing with non-unionists.
1949 A. Koestler Promise & Fulfilm. ii. v. 275 Owing to the closed-shop system of political coteries, most of the diplomatic jobs go to little yes-men.
closed society n. a society characterized by its rigid structure and beliefs; one having little or no contact with other peoples or intolerant of any disturbance of its existing order and traditions.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > customs, values, and civilization > a civilization or culture > [noun] > other types of civilizations or cultures
economy1535
patriarchy1868
by-world1872
Western world1894
overworld1895
open society1911
pao-chia1931
closed society1935
plural society1939
technopolis1946
shame culture1947
19841951
Hollerith1957
metaculture1959
underground1959
permissive society1960
caring society1966
technocomplex1968
microsociety1970
overground1971
Manhattanism1978
1935 R. A. Audra et al. tr. H. L. Bergson Two Sources Morality & Relig. iv. 229 The closed society is that whose members hold together, caring nothing for the rest of humanity, on the alert for attack or defence.
1945 K. R. Popper Open Society I. x. 154 The problem of the tension between the classes..is raised for the first time by the breakdown of the closed society.
1955 A. Koestler Trail of Dinosaur 84 ‘Closed’ societies such as prison camps.. also tend to develop a monolithic system of values.
closed system n. a complete and essentially unalterable system (of ideas, doctrines, things, etc.); a material system in which the total mass or energy remains constant; a self-contained realm, unaffected by external forces.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > dynamics > thermodynamics > [noun] > system where energy and mass constant
closed system1896
the world > relative properties > order > [noun] > quality of being systematic > systematic arrangement > a system or scheme > specific types of system
hierarchy1644
algebra1663
network1839
closed system1896
open system1939
1896 W. James Will to Believe (1897) 13 A system, to be a system at all, must come as a closed system, reversible in this or that detail, perchance, but in its essential features never!
1912 J. S. Huxley Individual in Animal Kingdom v. 143 The tendency towards the formation of closed systems has manifested itself.
1922 A. N. Whitehead Princ. Relativity ii. 21 We are treating nature as a closed system.
1925 O. W. Holmes in Holmes–Laski Lett. (1953) I. 706 I take it that he thinks no one a philosopher who hasn't a closed system—a cosmos that accounts for and sustains itself and is seen as necessary.
1947 Mind 56 64 It is asserted in the science of physics that in a closed system where there are exchanges of energy, energy is conserved.
1948 E. F. Obert Thermodynamics ii. 27 A closed system contains a constant mass, and only energy is allowed to cross the boundary.
1951 T. J. Benac tr. F. Waismann Introd. Math. Thinking 60 Each of the three systems—the natural numbers, the integers, the rational numbers—forms a closed system by itself, and it is quite impossible to go from one of these domains to another by adjoining new elements.
1958 Oxf. Dict. Christian Church 100/2 For practical purposes it is necessary to treat the material world as a closed system.
Draft additions June 2004
Mathematics and Physics. Of a curve or surface: completely enclosing an area or volume; having no end points.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > surface > [adjective]
monoid1863
anallagmatic1869
scrolar1869
torsal1869
closed1882
vicinal1895
orientable1920
non-orientable1925
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > curve > [adjective] > having certain property
mechanical1694
intercepted1702
rectifiable1706
transcendental1706
tortuous1867
monocyclic1869
bicursal1873
irreconcilable1881
closed1882
anautotomic1901
fractal1975
1851 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 141 275 The resultant force at any point external to a lamellarly-magnetized magnet will..depend solely upon the edges of the shells into which it may be divided by surfaces perpendicular to the lines of magnetization..,and not at all on the forms of these shells, within the bounding surface, nor upon any closed shells of which part of the magnet may consist.
1882 G. M. Minchin Uniplanar Kinematics 140 The curve is closed, so that the extreme points A and B coincide.
1935 C. J. Smith Intermediate Physics (ed. 2) v. xxxvii. 626 Gauss's theorem for electrostatics states that the total flux of electric induction across any closed surface is 4π times the sum of the charges enclosed in that surface.
1972 M. Kline Math. Thought xxvii. 660 A Riemann surface may have boundary curves or be closed like a sphere or a torus.
1994 Sci. Amer. Mar. 52/2 Suppose space-time becomes so distorted that some worldlines form closed loops.
Draft additions March 2004
Astronomy. Of the universe: spatially finite, esp. through having a positive radius of curvature.If the universe is spatially finite and also contains sufficient matter for gravity to halt the expansion begun at the big bang, it could eventually recontract.
ΚΠ
1922 H. L. Brose tr. H. Weyl Space—Time—Matter iv. 278 We conclude that space is closed and hence finite... If the world is closed, spatially, it becomes possible for an observer to see several pictures of one and the same star.
1937 E. Hubble Observational Approach Cosmol. iii. 55 A positive curvature implies closed space, a universe with a definite, finite volume but with no boundary.
1966 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 294 511 However, the Cauchy surface of the universe may be compact (a ‘closed’ model).
2003 Nature 9 Oct. 566/3 Positively curved space sections are necessarily closed, but the converse does not necessarily follow: both flat and negatively curved space sections can be finite if their connectivity is more complicated than in Euclidean space.
Draft additions January 2009
closed communion n. Christian Church (chiefly U.S.) the practice of restricting the administration of the Eucharist to communicants who are members of a specific church, denomination, etc.; cf. open communion n. at open adj. Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1870 W. Warren These for Those xxi. 339 Let them see how much there is that unites them, and how little there is that divides them, and there would be more of a close communion, and less of a closed communion!
1904 Renwick (Iowa) Times 18 Nov. The probability of a schism in the Baptist church over the question of open or closed communion.
2002 Arkansas Democrat-Gaz. (Nexis) 23 Nov. [He] says the Roman Catholic Church advocates closed Communion. ‘We do not invite people of other Christian churches to receive Communion at our services.’
Draft additions June 2006
closed season n. = close season n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting time > [noun] > close-time
fermison?a1400
fence-month1594
time of gracea1610
fencer-month1699
close season1843
closed season1878
sanctuary1898
close-time-
1878 Burlington (Iowa) Hawk-eye 4 Apr. 4/6 No person can buy or sell game during the closed season.
1924 Amer. Mercury Sept. 99/1 Offenses that are merely malum prohibitum , such as motor-speeding, hunting in the closed season, or buying or selling bootleg whisky.
1999 Angling Times 16 June 12/1 All the moronic arguments about the closed season are coming out of the woodwork.
Draft additions April 2010
closed traverse n. Surveying a traverse (traverse n. 20) in which the starting point and end point are identical, or the coordinates of the starting point and end point are both known; cf. open traverse n. at open adj. Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1859 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 22 235/1 When the traverse is closed at A, the angle BAF, if no mistake has been made, will be equal to the last observed angle.]
1865 Rep. President Queen's Coll., Belfast 79 How may the area within the great polygon of a closed traverse survey be computed by the method of making out a ‘traverse table’?
1910 Geogr. Jrnl. 35 537 Time did not permit of a triangulation being run down the banks of the Nile... A series of closed traverses was accordingly substituted.
2002 J. Porter Motorway Achievement iii. 108 The lengths of links and the sizes of the internal angles of a closed traverse should all be reasonably similar, which is never the case if the closed traverse is formed within the narrow corridor of the road.
Draft additions June 2017
closed stance n. Sport a position in which a stationary player places the feet or turns the body so as to face away from the direction of play, in preparation for striking the ball with a club, racket, bat, etc.; cf. open stance n. at open adj. Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1909 P. A. Vaile Mod. Golf viii. 121 We have not yet heard of the..‘closed’ stance, although if we call the stance for..the slice, open, then surely that for the pull is ‘closed’.
1949 Manch. Guardian 28 Jan. 6/6 The closed stance..is rarely possible during a rapid volleying exchange at the net.
2013 D. Johnson Compl. Guide to Pitching vii. 126 Theoretically, a closed stance makes it more difficult for the hitter to see.
Draft additions January 2018
closed adoption n. a form of adoption in which the biological parents have no direct contact with the adoptive family, and the adoptive parents often know little or nothing about the birth parents; contrasted with open adoption n. at open adj. Compounds 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > [noun] > adoptive or foster relationship > adoption
adoption1340
arrogation1565
affiliation1623
whangai1948
third party adoption1965
open adoption1973
closed adoption1977
1977 Hutchinson (Kansas) News 10 Apr. 12/5 Closed adoptions historically are a development of 20th century western society, and primarily of the United States.
1996 Guardian 27 Mar. 16/5 Mine was a closed adoption, and the agency is intent on keeping things that way.
2002 T. Heller Pregnant! What can I Do? 53 After the early 1970s, when society became more ‘accepting’ of single motherhood, people spoke more openly about adoption, including the restrictions of closed adoptions.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.c1275