▪ I. † enˈclose, n. Obs. rare.
[f. next; in Caxton perh. a. OF. enclos or enclose.]
= enclosure.
1. The space enclosed by a boundary; the precincts.
| 1484 Caxton Curial (1888) 16 Wythin thenclose of thy pryue hous. |
2. A letter or document enclosed within another.
| 1648 Evelyn Mem. (1857) III. 32 Since my last, I received..an enclose from Mr. Warcupp. |
▪ II. enclose, inclose, v.
(ɛn-, ɪnˈkləʊz)
Forms: α. (? 4 encless), 6 encloyse, 4– enclose. β. 5– inclose, 6 incloise, -cloiss.
[f. en-1 + close v., after OF. enclore (pa. pple. enclos) of same meaning. (Cf. incluse.) The majority of recent Dicts. give inclose as the typical form; but the preponderance of usage (in England at least), as well as etymological propriety, is in favour of enclose. The statutes providing for the enclosure of land use the spelling inclose.]
1. a. trans. To surround (with walls, fences, or other barriers) so as to prevent free ingress or egress.
| α ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 2396 Here es a knyghte in theis klevys, enclesside [? read enclosside] with hilles. c 1430 Lydg. Compl. Bl. Knt. vi, A parke, enclosed with a wal. 1481 Caxton Myrr. ii. iii 67 The paradies terrestre..is enclosed with fyre brennyng. |
| β c 1400 Destr. Troy 848 In an yle..This clene flese was inclosede all with clere water. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. 2 And the felde be inclosed about. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 91 There is a gulfe of 516 miles, inclosed within the promontory or cape of the mountain Barce. 1611 Bible 2 Macc. i. 34 Then the king inclosing the place, made it holy. 1716–8 Lady M. W. Montague Lett. I. xxxvi. 137 The gardens..are inclosed with very high walls. 1743 J. Davidson æneid vii. 185 And incloses it with a Parapet. |
b. To fence in (waste or common land) with the intention of taking it into cultivation, or of appropriating it to individual owners. Also fig.
| α 1503–4 Act 19 Hen. VII, c. 29 §2 Landes..whiche..be encloysed of newe with a Pale. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. 2 It is at the lordes pleasure to enclose them and kepe them in tyllage or pasture. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, i. iii. 24 Against the Duke of Suffolke, for enclosing the Commons of Melforde. 1725 De Foe Voy. round W. (1840) 305 It was not..enclosed after the English manner. 1833 H. Martineau Brooke Farm i. 12 An Act of Parliament is to be obtained for enclosing Brook common. |
| β [1538 Starkey England 97, I thynke hyt veray necessary to haue thys inclosyng of pasturys for our catayl and bestys. 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Ch. Porch iv, If God had laid all common, certainly Man would have been th' incloser.] 1712 Act 12 Anne c. 14 §1 It shall..be lawful..to inclose any Part of the Wastes or Common Grounds..not exceeding Sixty Acres. 1744 Jacob Law Dict. s.v. Inclosure, If the Lord of a Manor inclose Part of the Waste or Common, and doth not leave sufficient Room for the Commoners; they may break down such Inclosure, or have Writ of Assize. 1756 Act 29 Geo. II c. 36 (title) An Act for inclosing by the mutual Consent of Lords and Tenants, Part of any Common. 1777 W. Dalrymple Trav. Sp. & Port. xvi, The late bishop improved this spot of ground..by planting and inclosing it. 1812–16 J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art II. 594 The general advantages of inclosing land can admit of no question. |
| fig. 1562 Apol. Private Masse (1850) 8 To enclose that to some one sort of private profit, that ought to remain in common. a 1618 Raleigh Maxims St. (1651) 43 Charles the fifth..purposed to enclose their [the Netherlanders] priviledges. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 420 This round World, whose first convex divides The luminous inferior Orbs, enclos'd From Chaos. 1668 Howe in H. Rogers Life iv. (1863) 126 It is an enclosed pleasure; a joy which the stranger cannot intermeddle with. |
2. a. To shut up in a room or building; to seclude, imprison. Obs. exc. with reference to monastic seclusion.
| α c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 334 Of vche clene comly kynde enclose seuen makez. 1375 Barbour Bruce iv. 219 The quhethir, men said, enclosit he had Ane spirit. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 200 Many a day..he lay..Withinne walles fast enclosed. 1577 Hanmer Anc. Eccl. Hist. (1619) 147 Infinite multitudes were everywhere enclosed. c 1590 Marlowe Faust (2nd version) 120 In the strongest tower Enclose him fast. 1872 O. Shipley Gloss. Eccl. Terms 169 The nuns live in community, but are not enclosed. |
| β 1585 Abp. Sandys Serm. (1841) 74 Manasses was never reclaimed until he was inclosed in prison. 1632 Lithgow Totall Disc. 451 He caused inclose mee in a little Cabinet within the Parlour. |
† b. To put (a jury) in the ‘box’. Sc. Obs.
| 1759 Hume Hist. Eng. (1806) III. xxxix. 271 The jury was enclosed, of which the earl of Caithness was chancellor. 1795 Scots. Mag. LVII. 610/2 Eleven o'clock..at which time the jury was inclosed. |
3. a. To insert in a frame or setting, or in a surrounding mass of material; to shut up in a case, envelope, or receptacle. Also fig.
| α c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶965 In the orisoun of the Paternoster hath oure Lord Jhesu Crist enclosed most thinges. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 506 And lettres hym bedes Of credence enclosyde. 1611 Bible Ex. xxxix. 6 They wrought Onix stones enclosed in ouches of gold. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. i. ii. 435 That lyes enclosed in this Trunke, which you Shall beare along impawnd. 1626 Bacon Sylva §318 The Apple, Enclosed in Wax was..Green and Fresh. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 218 About the middle of this Month quite enclose your tender Plants. |
| β 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. vi. 340 The Reliques of Malcolme..war Jncloset and keipet in the selfe buist. 1611 Bible Song Sol. viii. 9 If she bee a dore, we will inclose her with boards of Cedar. 1713 Guardian No. 1 ¶1 A robe or mantle inclosed in a circle of foliages. 1750 tr. Leonardus' Mirr. Stones 147 Whatever extraneous matter it finds is inclosed in the gum. |
b. In mod. use esp.: To place (a letter, document, etc.) for transmission within the cover of another. Also said of the containing letter.
| 1707 Addison Lett. (1941) 68 My Lord Hartford desiring me to enclose this Letter to the Electoress. 1708 Ibid. 109, I this morning receiv'd..your Lordship's letter..with several others enclosed in the same packet. 1768 Bp. Warburton Lett. Eminent Divine (1809) 422, I looked over my papers to see if I could explain the matter in another sheet, which I would have inclosed. 1835 Dickens Let. 8 Aug. (1965) I. 72 My dear Tom.—I inclose you the proof we spoke of, agreeably to your request. 1838 ― Let. 28 Dec. 478, I inclose to Mrs. Blanchard an Invitation from my worser half. 1840 F. Trollope Widow Married iii, I inclose you a lock of his dear little hair. a 1891 Mod. (Comm.) I beg to enclose my price list. I have received his letter enclosing a cheque. 1903 J. Joyce Let. 9 Mar. (1966) II. 35, I enclose you self-explaining documents. |
4. In various occasional uses: † a. To blindfold (the eyes). Obs.
| 1475 Caxton Jason 102 b, [Jason] made them to ere foure mesures of lond, enclosing their eyen. |
† b. To harness, put in the shafts. Obs. rare—1.
| 1615 Chapman Odyss. iii. 658 They went to coach, and did their horse inclose [Gr. ζεύγνυντο]. |
† c. To fasten (a door). Obs. rare.
| 1563 Becon Articles Chr. Relig. xix, We celebrate the mysteryes, the dores beyng shut and enclosed. |
5. a. Of things: To surround, bound on all sides; to envelop, contain.
| α 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 6610 Þe sese..encloses alle þe erthe oboute. 1382 Wyclif Jonah ii. 6 Depnesse encloside me. 1734 tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. IV. ix. 294 A province enclosed between Cilicia and Cappadocia. 1834 M{supc}Murtrie Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 409 The semi-nymph only differs from the larva in the presence of the cases which enclose the wings. 1884 Bower & Scott De Bary's Phaner. & Ferns 585 A normal cambium..encloses a large pith. 1887 Stevenson Underwoods i. i. 1 A house with lawns enclosing it. |
| β 1503 Dunbar Thistle & Rose 156 A coistly croun..This cumly quene did on hir heid incloiss. 1645 Boate Irel. Nat. Hist. (1652) 40 The Sea..upon the East-side, where the same is inclosed betwixt Ireland and Great-Britain. 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 18 Many of them [crystals] inclose organized substances which they could not have admitted but when in a soft or liquid state. 1839 G. Bird Nat. Philos. 106 The air inclosed between E and A will escape through the valve E. |
b. Math. Of lines or surfaces: To bound on all sides (a portion of space); also (loosely) to intercept (an angle).
| 1762 Simson Euclid's Elem. Axiom, Two straight lines cannot enclose a space. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. §2. 15 The number of degrees in the angle enclosed by the two mirrors. 1885 Watson & Burbury Math. The. Electr. & Magn. I. 63 The space within any closed surface S' enclosing S. |
6. Of an army, a number of persons, etc.: To surround, hem in on all sides.
| 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. v. iii. 27 Titinius is enclosed round about With Horsemen. 1611 Bible Judg. xx. 43 They inclosed the Beniamites round about. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 617 They..half enclose him round With all his Peers. 1770 Langhorne Plutarch I. (1879) I. 125/1 The rest of the forces..enclosed the enemy's rear. 1865–6 H. Phillips Amer. Paper Curr. II. 91 Endeavor to enclose the British army and navy in the Delaware bay. |
▪ III. † enˈclose, pple. Obs.
In 5 inclose.
[a. Fr. enclos, pa. pple. of enclore: see prec. Cf. encluse.]
Used as pa. pple. of enclose v.
| ? c 1475 Sqr. lowe Degre 986 It was my stewarde, Syr Maradose, That ye so longe have kept inclose. |