'Close borough' definitions:

Definition of 'Close borough'

From: GCIDE
  • Borough \Bor"ough\, n. [OE. burgh, burw, boru, port, town, burrow, AS. burh, burg; akin to Icel., Sw., & Dan. borg, OS. & D. burg, OHG. puruc, purc, MHG. burc, G. burg, Goth. ba['u]rgs; and from the root of AS. beorgan to hide, save, defend, G. bergen; or perh. from that of AS. beorg hill, mountain. [root]95. See Bury, v. t., and cf. Burrow, Burg, Bury, n., Burgess, Iceberg, Borrow, Harbor, Hauberk.]
  • 1. In England, an incorporated town that is not a city; also, a town that sends members to parliament; in Scotland, a body corporate, consisting of the inhabitants of a certain district, erected by the sovereign, with a certain jurisdiction; in America, an incorporated town or village, as in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. --Burrill. --Erskine. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. The collective body of citizens or inhabitants of a borough; as, the borough voted to lay a tax. [1913 Webster]
  • Close borough, or Pocket borough, a borough having the right of sending a member to Parliament, whose nomination is in the hands of a single person.
  • Rotten borough, a name given to any borough which, at the time of the passage of the Reform Bill of 1832, contained but few voters, yet retained the privilege of sending a member to Parliament. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Close borough'

From: GCIDE
  • Close \Close\ (kl[=o]s), a. [Compar. Closer (kl[=o]"s[~e]r); superl. Closest.] [Of. & F. clos, p. p. of clore. See Close, v. t.]
  • 1. Shut fast; closed; tight; as, a close box. [1913 Webster]
  • From a close bower this dainty music flowed. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Narrow; confined; as, a close alley; close quarters. "A close prison." --Dickens. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Oppressive; without motion or ventilation; causing a feeling of lassitude; -- said of the air, weather, etc. [1913 Webster]
  • If the rooms be low-roofed, or full of windows and doors, the one maketh the air close, . . . and the other maketh it exceeding unequal. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. Strictly confined; carefully quarded; as, a close prisoner. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. Out of the way observation; secluded; secret; hidden. "He yet kept himself close because of Saul." --1 Chron. xii. 1 [1913 Webster]
  • "Her close intent." --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. Disposed to keep secrets; secretive; reticent. "For secrecy, no lady closer." --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. Having the parts near each other; dense; solid; compact; as applied to bodies; viscous; tenacious; not volatile, as applied to liquids. [1913 Webster]
  • The golden globe being put into a press, . . . the water made itself way through the pores of that very close metal. --Locke. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. Concise; to the point; as, close reasoning. "Where the original is close no version can reach it in the same compass." --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 9. Adjoining; near; either in space; time, or thought; -- often followed by to. [1913 Webster]
  • Plant the spring crocuses close to a wall. --Mortimer. [1913 Webster]
  • The thought of the Man of sorrows seemed a very close thing -- not a faint hearsay. --G. Eliot. [1913 Webster]
  • 10. Short; as, to cut grass or hair close. [1913 Webster]
  • 11. Intimate; familiar; confidential. [1913 Webster]
  • League with you I seek And mutual amity, so strait, so close, That I with you must dwell, or you with me. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • 12. Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced; as, a close vote. "A close contest." --Prescott. [1913 Webster]
  • 13. Difficult to obtain; as, money is close. --Bartlett. [1913 Webster]
  • 14. Parsimonious; stingy. "A crusty old fellow, as close as a vise." --Hawthorne. [1913 Webster]
  • 15. Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact; strict; as, a close translation. --Locke. [1913 Webster]
  • 16. Accurate; careful; precise; also, attentive; undeviating; strict; not wandering; as, a close observer. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]