uncloseadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈkləʊs/, /(ˌ)ʌŋˈkləʊs/, U.S. /ˌənˈkloʊs/ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > [adjective]
openeOE
opec1275
unshutc1384
uncloseda1398
unstoken1421
unclosec1540
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 73 The Grekes..Comyn to the castell vnclose were the yatis.
1651 tr. G. Buchanan Detectioon Mary Queen of Scots 59 A house (I say) torn, solitarie, on every side, not only unclose [?1571 nat close], but open to pass through.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > unaffectedness or naturalness > [adjective] > straightforward or frank
right fortha1382
plaina1393
free-hearteda1398
round1487
opena1535
sincere1539
frank1555
pert1567
single-hearted1574
single-minded1577
direct1586
open-hearted1593
open-breasted1594
transparent1600
unclose1606
unminced1648
even down1654
unreserved1654
rugged1678
plain sailing1707
whole-footed1744
sturdy1775
heart-in-mouth1827
jannock1828
straightforward1829
direct-dealing1830
undiplomatic1834
straight-ahead1836
straight-up-and-down1859
man to man1902
1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iii. 147 Knowne Designes are dangerous toact: And, th' vn-close Chiefe [Fr. le chef peu secret], did never noble fact.
3. Not close; distant; not intimate.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [adjective] > intimate or familiar > not intimate
unclose1659
1659 A. Hay Diary 31 Dec. (1901) 227 Notwithstanding my unclose walking, yet the Lord had been very kind to me.
1977 Traverse City (Mich.) Record-Eagle 27 June 23/2 Let us also celebrate our unclose friends, and those peripheral people whose paths cross ours at just an intersection.
2009 T. Caldwell Finn Half-great 215 We are not close, he and I...And it is unhealthy to be unclose with him.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
unclosev.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈkləʊz/, /(ˌ)ʌŋˈkləʊz/, U.S. /ˌənˈkloʊz/ 1.
a. transitive. To cause (something) to open or be opened; to open (a container, one's eyes, a door, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > open [verb (transitive)]
undoc893
untinec950
openOE
to-doOE
undita1225
leesea1325
unfolda1325
unspeara1325
unclosea1350
to open upa1400
disclose?1440
opea1450
unlock?1548
uncask1594
unhinge1624
unsluice1652
reserate1657
a1350 Recipe Painting in Archæol. Jrnl. (1844) 1 66 (MED) Tac a ston other a bord that wol kevere the vessel ant clos hit above wel ant faste..ant sete hit into horsse dunge..bi the space of ix niht other more, ant thenne tac up thi vessel, ant unclosit [read unclos it] above.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. l. 2376 (MED) He bad anon the cofre unclose.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 1438 (MED) He wyth keyes uncloses kystes ful mony.
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 264 (MED) Ryse up, serys, I ȝou pray! On-close ȝour eyne for my sake.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. ix. f. 46 They vnclose and shake theyr handes.
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxxviii. 73 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 108 He vnclos'd the garners of the skies.
1628 G. Wither Britain's Remembrancer v. sig. K2 Tis my charge in the morning to vnclose the leaden coffin, and discouer the bodie.
1686 J. S. Hist. Monastical Convent. 176 The Masons unwalled and unclosed the Conclave.
1700 J. Dryden tr. G. Boccaccio Cymon & Iphigenia in Fables 547 At length awaking, Iphigene the Fair..Unclos'd her Eyes.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho I. ix. 223 She..unclosed the casement to listen to the strains.
1827 W. Scott Surgeon's Daughter in Chron. Canongate 1st Ser. II. x. 251 Surely the demons of Ambition and Avarice will unclose the talons which they have fixed upon this man.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. ix. 124 The woman slowly unclosed her large, dark eyes, and looked vacantly at her.
1902 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 25 Mar. 2501/1 It is necessary to unclose the opening..in the door and thus to cause a current of air to pass through the room.
2013 C. Doctorow Homeland xiv. 328 I pounced on my mouse and started unclosing the browser tabs I'd just closed.
b. intransitive. To become open; to open up.In quot. a1398, vnclosiþ translates Latin aperit, but part of the original source is not represented in the English, thus incorrectly suggesting that the heliotrope opens (rather than closes) at sunset.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > become open [verb (intransitive)]
openOE
undo1122
unlouk1340
unfoldc1350
unshut1390
unclosea1398
opena1400
waltc1400
unstopc1440
twirl?1523
disclosec1586
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. liv. 946 Þe roodewort..hatte solsequium..for þe floures þerof vnclosiþ [L. aperit] whan þe sonne goþ doun.
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) vi. 218 Take roses that bigynneth forto vnclose.
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) l. 20333 Yiff they hadde commyssioun..Bothe to shette and ek vnclose.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 14v In hor mouthe caste [it] And þai clappe shall full clene & neuer vnclose aftur.
1594 T. Lodge & R. Greene Looking Glasse sig. E4v What tortuous planets..Hath made the concaue of the earth vnclose?
1634 T. Johnson tr. A. Paré Chirurg. Wks. xxiv. xlvii. 942 The teeth, that were set and closed fast together, begin..to open and unclose againe.
1726 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey IV. xviii. 235 Wak'd at their steps, her flowing eyes unclose.
a1785 R. Glover Athenaid (1787) III. xxvii. 300 Now they reach The further mouth unclosing in a dale Abrupt.
1808 ‘H. St. Victor’ Ruins of Rigonda II. 94 She perceived her curtains unclose, and the form of her mother leaning over her.
1880 ‘Ouida’ Moths I. 54 She heard the door underneath unclose.
1950 A. Seton Foxfire iii. 77 Amanda saw Dart's muscles relax, and her throat unclosed, too.
2001 T. Henighan Viking Quest 15 Ivar stared at him, his face twisted in an angry frown, his fists closing and unclosing in obvious frustration.
2. transitive. To disclose (something secret or hidden); to make known or apparent; to reveal. In later use chiefly literary.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > disclosure or revelation > disclose or reveal [verb (transitive)]
unwryc825
unhelec1000
to draw forthc1175
unhillc1200
to bring forth?c1225
unsteekc1250
let witc1275
uncovera1300
wraya1300
knowc1300
barea1325
shrivec1374
unwrapc1374
again-covera1382
nakena1382
outc1390
tellc1390
disclosea1393
cough1393
unhidea1400
unclosec1400
unhaspc1400
bewrayc1405
reveal1409
accusea1413
reveil1424
unlocka1425
unrekec1425
disclude?1440
uncurec1440
utter1444
detect1447
break1463
expose1483
divinec1500
revelate1514
to bring (also put) to light1526
decipher1529
rake1547
rip1549
unshadow1550
to lay to sight1563
uppen1565
unlace1567
unvisor?1571
resign1572
uncloak1574
disshroud1577
spill1577
reap1578
unrip1579
scour1585
unharboura1586
unmask1586
uncase1587
descrya1591
unclasp?1592
unrive1592
discover1594
unburden1594
untomb1594
unhusk1596
dismask1598
to open upc1600
untruss1600
divulge1602
unshale1606
unbrace1607
unveil1609
rave1610
disveil1611
unface1611
unsecret1612
unvizard1620
to open up1624
uncurtain1628
unscreen1628
unbare1630
disenvelop1632
unclothe1632
to lay forth1633
unshroud1633
unmuffle1637
midwife1638
dissecret1640
unseal1640
unmantle1643
to fetch out1644
undisguise1655
disvelop1658
decorticate1660
clash1667
exert1692
disinter1711
to up with1715
unbundlea1739
develop1741
disembosom1745
to open out1814
to let out1833
unsack1846
uncrown1849
to bring (out) in (also into) the open1861
unfrock1866
disbosom1868
to blow the lid off1928
flush1950
surface1955
to take or pull the wraps off1964
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 26 (MED) Me mynez on one amonge oþer, as Maþew recordez, Þat þus of clannesse unclosez a ful cler speche.
c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Seying of Nightingale (Harl.) l. 51 in Minor Poems (1900) 18 The briddes song I shal to the vnclose.
1608 tr. O. van Veen Amorum Emblemata 54 Hee doth vnclose his thoghts, to gayn vnfayned grace.
1685 W. Clark Grand Tryal ii. iv. 29 I must unclose The Secrets of my Heart.
1709 R. Gould Wks. I. 89 To the World I may unclose the Scene And suit my Verse to the Immortal Theme.
1799 R. Glover Jason v. ii. 69 Now shall indeed these pure abodes unclose Their blissful treasures.
1832 C. Fry Christ our Example iii. 88 Some such are saved; not by..unclosing his mysteries to satisfy their wisdom, but by a quite different process.
1877 M. Oliphant Makers of Florence (ed. 2) viii. 212 He..uncloses the treasures of that celestial wisdom which speaks to men.
1918 M. P. Follett New State xxiii. 204 How can we unclose the sources within our own midst from which to draw our inspiration?
1993 Stud. Philol. 90 248 Where it uncloses the depths of the speaker's trauma, I believe that punning has incalculable dramatic power.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > sexual organs and reproduction > [verb (transitive)] > hatch
disclosec1450
unclose1486
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. a ij And when they [sc. hawks] bene vnclosed and begynneth to feder any thyng of lengthe anoon be kynde they will draw somwatt out of the nest.
1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 325 As concerning the nature of Eagles, it maie be taken, that their young ones doe sucke bloud anone after they be unclosed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [verb (transitive)] > tack or harness > unharness
untackle1574
ungear1598
unharness1611
unclose?1614
unrig1690
outspan1815
unshut1817
untack1962
?1614 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses iv. 32 Informe your pleasure, if we shall vnclose Their horse from coach.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.c1540
v.a1350