open
Pronunciation Etymology 1Synonyms
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.003
Pronunciation Etymology 1
From Middle English open, from Old English open, from Proto-West Germanic *opan, from Proto-Germanic *upanaz, from Proto-Indo-European *upo.
- Scots apen
- Saterland Frisian eepen
- Western Frisian iepen
- Dutch open
- Low German open, apen ("open")
- German offen
- Danish åben
- Swedish öppen
- Norwegian Bokmål åpen
- Norwegian Nynorsk open
- Icelandic opinn
open
- (usually, not comparable) Not closed.
- Able to be accessed (physically).
- Able to have something pass through or along it.
- Turn left after the second open door.
- 1908 October, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner's Sons, →OCLC ↗:
- The open road, the dusty highway […]
- (of a body part) Not covered; showing what is inside.
- It was as if his body had gone to sleep standing up and with his eyes open.
- (of a sandwich, etc.) Composed of a single slice of bread with a topping.
- Synonyms: open-face, open-faced
- Not physically drawn together, closed, folded or contracted; extended.
- an open hand; an open flower
- 1700, [John] Dryden, “The Flower and the Leaf: Or, The Lady in the Arbour. A Vision.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC ↗:
- Each, with open arms, embraced her chosen knight.
- (not comparable) Actively conducting or prepared to conduct business.
- Banks are not open on bank holidays.
- (comparable) Receptive.
- I am open to new ideas.
- c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act V, scene ii]:
- The service that I truly did his life, / Hath left me open to all injuries.
- 2005, Pamela J. Carter, Susan Lewsen, Lippincott's Textbook for Nursing Assistants, page 277:
- When the top sheet, blanket, and bedspread of a closed bed are turned back, or fanfolded, the closed bed becomes an open bed, or a bed ready to receive a patient or resident.
(not comparable) Public - He published an open letter to the governor on a full page of The New York Times.
- c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene iii]:
- His thefts were too open.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC ↗:
- That I may find him, and with secret gaze / Or open admiration him behold.
(not comparable) With open access, of open science, or both. - hopes for all aspects of the project being open rather than paywalled
- (not comparable) Candid, ingenuous, not subtle in character.
- The man is an open book.
- 1731-1735, Alexander Pope, Moral Essays
- with aspect open, shall erect his head
- c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene iii]:
- The Moor is of a free and open nature.
- 1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC ↗:
- The French are always open, familiar, and talkative.
- (now, regional) Mild (of the weather); free from frost or snow.
- c. 1794, Jane Austen, Lady Susan:
- He desires me to tell you that the present open weather induces him to accept Mr Vernon's invitation to prolong his stay in Sussex that they may have some hunting together.
- (mathematics, logic, of a formula) Having a free variable.
- (mathematics, topology, of a set) Which is part of a predefined collection of subsets of X, that defines a topological space on X.
- (graph theory, of a walk) Whose first and last vertices are different.
- (computing, not comparable, of a file, document, etc.) In current use; connected to as a resource.
- I couldn't save my changes because another user had the same file open.
- (engineering, gas and liquid flow, of valve or damper) To be in a position allowing fluid to flow.
- (electricity, of a switch or circuit breaker) To be in a position preventing electricity from flowing.
- (sometimes, business) Not fulfilled or resolved; incomplete.
- I've got open orders for as many containers of red durum as you can get me.
- Not settled or adjusted; not decided or determined; not closed or withdrawn from consideration.
- an open question
- to keep an offer or opportunity open
- Your account will remain open until we receive final settlement.
- (music, stringed instruments) Of a note, played without pressing the string against the fingerboard.
- (wind instruments) Of a note, played without closing any finger-hole, key or valve.
- Not of a quality to prevent communication, as by closing waterways, blocking roads, etc.; hence, not frosty or inclement; mild; used of the weather or the climate.
- an open winter
- (law, of correspondence) Written or sent with the intention that it may made public or referred to at any trial, rather than by way of confidential private negotiation for a settlement.
- You will observe that this is an open letter and we reserve the right to mention it to the judge should the matter come to trial.
- (phonetics) Uttered with a relatively wide opening of the articulating organs; said of vowels.
- (phonetics) Uttered, as a consonant, with the oral passage simply narrowed without closure.
- (phonetics, of a syllable) That ends in a vowel; not having a coda.
- (computing, education) Made public, usable with a free licence and without proprietary components.
- (medicine) Resulting from an incision, puncture or any other process by which the skin no longer protects an internal part of the body.
- (computing, used before "code") Source code of a computer program that is not within the text of a macro being generated.
- (of a multi-word compound) Having component words separated by spaces, as opposed to being joined together or hyphenated; for example, time slot as opposed to timeslot or time-slot.
- (not closed) accessible, unimpeded
- (ending in a vowel) free
- (with a free license and no proprietary components) free
- (antonym(s) of “accessible”): closed, shut
- (antonym(s) of “law”): without prejudice
- (antonym(s) of “ending in a vowel”): closed, checked
- (antonym(s) of “with a free license and no proprietary components”): closed-source, proprietary
- French: ouvert
- German: auf, offen
- Italian: aperto, dischiuso
- Portuguese: aberto
- Russian: откры́тый
- Spanish: abierto
- French: ouvert
- German: offen, geöffnet
- Italian: aperto
- Portuguese: aberto
- Russian: откры́тый
- Spanish: abierto
- French: ouvert
- German: öffentlich
- Italian: aperto
- Portuguese: aberto
- Russian: откры́тый
- German: aufrichtig, (occasionally pejorative) treuherzig, (pejorative) unbedarft
From Middle English openen, from Old English openian, from Proto-West Germanic *opanōn, from Proto-Germanic *upanōną, from Proto-Germanic *upanaz.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian eepenje, Western Frisian iepenje, Dutch openen, German öffnen, Danish åbne, Swedish öppna, Norwegian Bokmål åpne, Norwegian Nynorsk - and Icelandic opna. Related to English up.
Verbopen (opens, present participle opening; simple past and past participle opened)
- (transitive) To make something accessible or allow for passage by moving from a shut position.
- Turn the doorknob to open the door.
- 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC ↗:
- I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 20, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC ↗:
- ‘No. I only opened the door a foot and put my head in. The street lamps shine into that room. I could see him. He was all right. Sleeping like a great grampus. Poor, poor chap.’
- (transitive) To make (an open space, etc.) by clearing away an obstacle or obstacles, in order to allow for passage, access, or visibility.
- He opened a path through the undergrowth.
- (transitive, intransitive, engineering, gas and liquid flow, of valve or damper) To move to a position allowing fluid to flow.
- (transitive, intransitive, electricity, of a switch, fuse or circuit breaker) To move to a position preventing electricity from flowing.
- (Manglish, Philippines, Quebec) To turn on; to switch on.
- Please open the lights, the (electric) fan, the TV.
- (transitive) To bring up, broach.
- I don't want to open that subject.
- (transitive) To enter upon, begin.
- to open a discussion
- to open fire upon an enemy
- to open trade, or correspondence
- to open a case in court, or a meeting
- (transitive) To spread; to expand into an open or loose position.
- to open a closed fist
- to open matted cotton by separating the fibres
- to open a map, book, or scroll
- (transitive) To make accessible to customers or clients.
- I will open the shop an hour early tomorrow.
- (transitive) To start (a campaign).
- Vermont will open elk hunting season next week.
- (intransitive) To become open.
- The door opened all by itself.
- 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC ↗:
- I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.
- (intransitive) To begin conducting business.
- The shop opens at 9:00.
- (intransitive) To perform before others at a concert or show.
- Our band opened for Nirvana.
- (intransitive, cricket) To begin a side's innings as one of the first two batsmen.
- (intransitive, poker) To bet before any other player has in a particular betting round in a game of poker.
- After the first two players fold, Julie opens for $5.
- (transitive, intransitive, poker) To reveal one's hand.
- Jeff opens his hand revealing a straight flush.
- (computing, transitive, intransitive) To connect to a resource (a file, document, etc.) for viewing or editing.
- (transitive, nursing) To make (a bed) ready for a patient by folding back the bedcovers.
- 2013, Susan C. deWit, Patricia A. Williams, Fundamental Concepts and Skills for Nursing, page 318:
- Follow agency policy, or open the bed by folding the top linens back.
- (obsolete) To disclose; to reveal; to interpret; to explain.
- 1622, Francis Bacon, The History of the Reign of King Henry the Seventh:
- The king opened himself to some of his council, that he was sorry for the earl's death.
Conjugation of open
- (to make accessible) unseal
- (to bring up) raise
- (to enter upon) start; see also Thesaurus:begin
- (to disclose) bare; see also Thesaurus:reveal
- French: ouvrir
- German: öffnen, aufmachen
- Italian: aprire, schiudere, dischiudere
- Portuguese: abrir
- Russian: открыва́ть
- Spanish: abrir
- Italian: toccare
- Portuguese: abrir
- Russian: поднима́ть
- German: eröffnen
- Portuguese: iniciar, começar
- Russian: развора́чивать
- French: ouvrir
- German: sich öffnen
- Portuguese: abrir
- Russian: открыва́ться
- Spanish: abrir
- German: offen, geöffnet
- Portuguese: abrir
- Russian: открыва́ться
From Middle English open, from the verb (see Etymology 2 above).
Nounopen (plural opens)
- (in the definite) Open or unobstructed space; an exposed location.
- I can't believe you left the lawnmower out in the open when you knew it was going to rain this afternoon!
- Wary of hunters, the fleeing deer kept well out of the open, dodging instead from thicket to thicket.
- (in the definite) Public knowledge or scrutiny; full view.
- We have got to bring this company's corrupt business practices into the open.
- (electronics) A defect in an electrical circuit preventing current from flowing.
- The electrician found the open in the circuit after a few minutes of testing.
- A sports event in which anybody can compete.
- the Australian Open
- The act of something being opened, such as an e-mail message.
- 2016, Ian Dodson, The Art of Digital Marketing, page 144:
- The total number of opens from original, or unique, subscribers.
- French: plein air
- French: (mettre qch au) grand jour
- French: faux contact
- French: omnium sportif
- Portuguese: aberto
- Spanish: open
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.003
