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What is the difference between closely and close?

closely | close |

Close is a derived term of closely.



In obsolete terms the difference between closely and close

is that closely is secretly; privately while close is out of the way of observation; secluded; secret; hidden.

As an adverb closely

is in a close manner.

As a verb close is

to remove a gap.

As a noun close is

an end or conclusion.

As an adjective close is

closed, shut.

closely

English

Adverb

(en-adv)
  • In a close manner.
    • Finnish and Estonian are closely related languages.
    The borderline between East and West Berlin was very closely guarded.
    The chairs are too closely spaced.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2012 , date=April 29 , author=Nathan Rabin , title=TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992) citation , page= , passage=“King Homer” follows the story of King Kong closely , with Mr. Burns taking the freakishly over-sized King Homer from his native Africa, where he lives proud as a simian god, to the United States, where he is an initially impressive but ultimately rather limited Broadway attraction. }}
  • (obsolete) secretly; privately
  • * Spenser
    • That nought she did but wayle, and often steepe / Her dainty couch with tears which closely she did weepe.

    close

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) .

    Verb

    (clos)
  • (label) To remove a gap.
  • # To obstruct (an opening).
  • # To move so that an opening is closed.
  • #* (Lord Byron) (1788-1824)
  • What deep wounds ever closed without a scar?
  • #*
  • #*:If I close my eyes I can see Marie today as I saw her then. Round, rosy face, snub nose, dark hair piled up in a chignon.
  • # To make (e.g. a gap) smaller.
  • # To grapple; to engage in close combat.
  • #* (1796-1859)
  • They boldly closed in a hand-to-hand contest.
  • (label) To finish, to terminate.
  • # To put an end to; to conclude; to complete; to finish; to consummate.
  • #* (John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • One frugal supper did our studies close .
  • # To come to an end.
  • # (label) To make a sale.
  • # To make the final outs, usually three, of a game.
  • # To terminate an application, window, file or database connection, etc.
  • To come or gather around; to enclose; to encompass; to confine.
  • * Bible, (w) ii. 5
    • The depth closed me round about.
  • * (George Herbert) (1593-1633)
    • But now Thou dost Thyself immure and close / In some one corner of a feeble heart; / Where yet both Sinne and Satan, Thy old foes, / Do pinch and straiten Thee, and use much art / To gain Thy thirds' and little part.
  • (label) To have a vector sum of 0; that is, to form a closed polygon.
    • Synonyms
    * close off, close up, cover, shut, shut off * shut * (put an end to) end, finish, terminate, wind up, close down * narrow * (terminate a computer program) close out, exit
    Antonyms
    * open * open * (put an end to) begin, commence, initiate, start * extend, widen * (terminate a computer program) open, start
    Derived terms
    * autoclosing * case closed * close down * close in * close off * close one's eyes * close out * close ranks * close the door on * close the face * close up *

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An end or conclusion.
    • We owe them our thanks for bringing the project to a successful close .
  • * Macaulay
    • His long and troubled life was drawing to a close .
  • The manner of shutting; the union of parts; junction.
  • * Chapman
    • The doors of plank were; their close exquisite.
  • A grapple in wrestling.
    • (Francis Bacon)
  • (music) The conclusion of a strain of music; cadence.
  • * Dryden
    • At every close she made, the attending throng / Replied, and bore the burden of the song.
  • (music) A double bar marking the end.
    • Synonyms
    * (end) end, finale
    Antonyms
    * (end) beginning, start

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) clos, from (etyl) clausum, participle of (m).

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Closed, shut.
  • * 1526 , William Tyndale, trans. Bible , Matthew chapter 8:
    • There is nothinge so close , that shall not be openned, and nothinge so hyd that shall not be knowen.
  • * Dryden
    • From a close bower this dainty music flowed.
  • Narrow; confined.
    • a close''' alley; '''close quarters
  • * Charles Dickens
    • a close prison
  • At a little distance; near.
  • * , chapter=7
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=[…] St.?Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close -packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-01, volume=407, issue=8838, page=71, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= End of the peer show , passage=Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close . This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend.}}
  • Intimate; well-loved.
  • # (legal) Of a corporation or other business entity, closely held.
  • Oppressive; without motion or ventilation; causing a feeling of lassitude.
  • * Francis Bacon
    • 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.
  • Hot, humid, with no wind.
  • (linguistics, phonetics, of a vowel) Articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate.
  • Strictly confined; carefully guarded.
    • a close prisoner
  • (obsolete) Out of the way of observation; secluded; secret; hidden.
  • * Bible, 1 Chron. xii. 1
    • He yet kept himself close because of Saul.
  • * Spenser
    • her close intent
  • Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced.
    • a close contest
  • Short.
    • to cut grass or hair close
  • (archaic) Dense; solid; compact.
  • * John Locke
    • The golden globe being put into a press, the water made itself way through the pores of that very close metal.
  • (archaic) Concise; to the point.
    • close reasoning
  • * Dryden
    • Where the original is close no version can reach it in the same compass.
  • (dated) Difficult to obtain.
    • Money is close .
    (Bartlett)
  • (dated) Parsimonious; stingy.
  • * Hawthorne
    • a crusty old fellow, as close as a vice
  • Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact.
    • a close translation
    (John Locke)
  • Accurate; careful; precise; also, attentive; undeviating; strict.
    • The patient was kept under close observation.
    Synonyms
    * (at a little distance) close by, near, nearby * (intimate) intimate * muggy, oppressive * (articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate) high
    Antonyms
    * (at a little distance) distant, far, far away, far off, remote * (intimate) aloof, cool, distant * (articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate) open
    Derived terms
    * close call * closely * closeness * close shave * close-up * thisclose

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An enclosed field.
  • (British) A street that ends in a dead end.
  • (Scotland) A very narrow alley between two buildings, often overhung by one of the buildings above the ground floor.
  • (Scotland) The common staircase in a tenement.
  • A cathedral close.
  • * Macaulay
    • closes surrounded by the venerable abodes of deans and canons.
  • (legal) The interest which one may have in a piece of ground, even though it is not enclosed.
    • (Bouvier)
    Synonyms
    * (street) cul-de-sac

    Statistics

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    Anagrams

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