CLOSE (5)

Close (?), a. [Compar. Closer (?); superl. Closest.] [[Of. & F. clos, p. p. of clore. See Close, v. t.]] 1. 1. Shut fast; closed; tight; as, a close box.
From a close bower this dainty music flowed. Dryden. 2. 2. Narrow; confined; as, a close alley; close quarters. “A close prison.” Dickens.
3. 3. Oppressive; without motion or ventilation; causing a feeling of lassitude; — said of the air, weather, etc.
If the rooms be low-roofed, or full of windows and doors, the one maketh the air close, . . . and the other maketh it exceeding unequal. Bacon. 4. 4. Strictly confined; carefully quarded; as, a close prisoner.
5. 5. Out of the way observation; secluded; secret; hidden. “He yet kept himself close because of Saul.” 1 Chron. xii. 1
“Her close intent.” Spenser. 6. 6. Disposed to keep secrets; secretive; reticent. “For secrecy, no lady closer.” Shak.
7. 7. Having the parts near each other; dense; solid; compact; as applied to bodies; viscous; tenacious; not volatile, as applied to liquids.
The golden globe being put into a press, . . . the water made itself way through the pores of that very close metal. Locke. 8. 8. Concise; to the point; as, close reasoning. “Where the original is close no version can reach it in the same compass.” Dryden.
9. 9. Adjoining; near; either in space; time, or thought; — often followed by to.
Plant the spring crocuses close to a wall. Mortimer. The thought of the Man of sorrows seemed a very close thing — not a faint hearsay. G. Eliot. 10. 10. Short; as, to cut grass or hair close.
11. 11. Intimate; familiar; confidential.
League with you I seek And mutual amity, so strait, so close, That I with you must dwell, or you with me. Milton. 12. 12. Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced; as, a close vote. “A close contest.” Prescott.
13. 13. Difficult to obtain; as, money is close. Bartlett.
14. 14. Parsimonious; stingy. “A crusty old fellow, as close as a vise.” Hawthorne.
15. 15. Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact; strict; as, a close translation. Locke.
16. 16. Accurate; careful; precise; also, attentive; undeviating; strict; not wandering; as, a close observer.
17. 17. (Phon.) Uttered with a relatively contracted opening of the mouth, as certain sounds of e and o in French, Italian, and German; — opposed to open.
Close borough. See under Borough. — Close breeding. See under Breeding. — Close communion, communion in the Lord's supper, restricted to those who have received baptism by immersion. — Close corporation, a body or corporation which fills its own vacancies. — Close fertilization. (Bot.) See Fertilization. — Close harmony (Mus.), compact harmony, in which the tones composing each chord are not widely distributed over several octaves. — Close time, a fixed period during which killing game or catching certain fish is prohibited by law. — Close vowel (Pron.), a vowel which is pronounced with a diminished aperture of the lips, or with contraction of the cavity of the mouth. — Close to the wind (Naut.), directed as nearly to the point from which the wind blows as it is possible to sail; closehauled; — said of a vessel.