English
enclosure
Enclosure comes from Old French enclore ‘to enclose’, from Latin claudō ‘to shut’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u- ‘key, hook, nail’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂u-‘key, hook, nail’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudō‘to shut’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinclūdere
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400enclore‘to enclose’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400enclosure
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1811same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂u-‘key, hook, nail’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudō‘to shut’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinclūdere
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400enclore‘to enclose’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400enclosure
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1811same form
Earliest quotation: 1811, Jane Austen, London: […] C[harles] Roworth: “'[…] The inclosure of Norland Common, now carrying on,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u- ‘key, hook, nail’
enclave, clavicle, clef, clave, 9 more
through Latin claudō ‘to shut’
close, exclusive, conclusion, clause, inclusion, inclusive, exclude, conclude, preclude, sluice, occlusion, recluse, claustrophobia, cloister, cloture, 31 more
through Latin inclūdere
Today it means
noun Something that is enclosed, i.e. inserted into a letter or similar package.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u- / enclosure