English
enclose
Enclose comes from Old French enclose, from Latin inclūdō ‘to shut up or in, confine, enclose, imprison,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- ‘key, hook, nail’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂w-‘key, hook, nail’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klaudō‘to close’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudō‘shut, end’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinclūdō‘to shut up or in, confine, enclose, imprison, keep in’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*inclaudōreconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400enclose
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enclos
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500enclosen
- Englishearliest quotation 1918enclose
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂w-‘key, hook, nail’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klaudō‘to close’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudō‘shut, end’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinclūdō‘to shut up or in, confine, enclose, imprison, keep in’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*inclaudōreconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400enclose
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enclos
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500enclosen
- Englishearliest quotation 1918enclose
Earliest quotation: 1918, James George Frazer, Folk-Lore In The Old Testament: “When members of this clan come upon the tracks…”
Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- ‘key, hook, nail’
…
Proto-West Germanic *klūsijan ‘to enclose’
Old English clȳsan ‘to close, shut’
Middle English clusen ‘to close’
Middle English closen ‘to close, enclose’
English close
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- ‘key, hook, nail’
include, cataract, conclave, subclavian, 29 more
through Latin claudō ‘shut, end’
exclusive, conclusion, exclude, clause, conclude, closure, closet, disclose, preclude, sluice, occlusion, recluse, claustrophobia, cloister, inclusiveness, cloture, 28 more
through Latin inclūdō ‘to shut up or in, confine, enclose, imprison,…’
Today it means
verb To surround with a wall, fence, etc.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- / enclose