Closeness

How to spell closeness

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce closeness

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does closeness mean?

1. nounThe state of being near to someone or something, especially in distance or in emotional warmth.

Closeness in a sentence

• The closeness of the two desks made private calls awkward.

• Years of shared holidays built a real closeness between the cousins.

Where does closeness come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The base word 'close' arrived in English in the 1300s from the Old French 'clos', meaning 'shut' or 'enclosed', which itself descended from the Latin 'clausus', the past participle of 'claudere', 'to shut'. Originally tied to the idea of an enclosed space, 'close' came to describe things shut tightly together, and from that physical tightness grew the sense of nearness, both in distance and in affection. English then added the native suffix '-ness', a thoroughly Old English ending used to turn an adjective into a noun naming a state or quality, giving 'closeness', the condition of being close. The same Latin 'claudere' root still hides inside relatives such as 'enclose', 'conclude' and 'cloister'. The spelling trap is the quiet silent 'e' kept from 'close', sitting before the '-ness', so the word holds two s sounds but only one doubled letter pattern to track.

How the word is built

• close (near, shut)
• -ness (state-of noun suffix)