Part 298

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. Short; as, to cut grass or hair close.

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. Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced; as, a close vote. "A close contest." Prescott.

13. Difficult to obtain; as, money is close. Bartlett.

14. Parsimonious; stingy. "A crusty old fellow, as close as a vise." Hawthorne.

15. Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact; strict; as, a close translation. Locke.

16. Accurate; careful; precise; also, attentive; undeviating; strict; not wandering; as, a close observer.

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.

Close (?), adv. 1. In a close manner.

2. Secretly; darkly. [Obs.]

A wondrous vision which did close imply The course of all her fortune and posterity. Spenser.

Close"-band`ed (?), a. Closely united.

Close"-barred` (?), a. Firmly barred or closed.

Close"-bod`ied (?), a. Fitting the body exactly; setting close, as a garment. Ayliffe.

Close"-fights` (?), n. pl. (Naut.) Barriers with loopholes, formerly erected on the deck of a vessel to shelter the men in a close engagement with an enemy's boarders; -- called also close quarters. [Obs.]

Close"fist`ed (?), a. Covetous; niggardly. Bp. Berkeley. "Closefisted contractors." Hawthorne.

Close"hand`ed (?), a. Covetous; penurious; stingy; closefisted. -- Close"hand`ed*ness, n.

Close"hauled` (?), a. (Naut.) Under way and moving as nearly as possible toward the direction from which the wind blows; -- said of a sailing vessel.

Close"ly, adv. 1. In a close manner.

2. Secretly; privately. [Obs.]

That nought she did but wayle, and often steepe Her dainty couch with tears which closely she did weepe. Spenser.

Close"mouthed` (?), a. Cautious in speaking; secret; wary; uncommunicative.

Clos"en (?), v. t. To make close. [R.]

Close"ness, n. The state of being close.