Word.ws English Dictionary

parclose

UK/ˈpɑːkləʊz/

parclose noun: a partition that closes off part of a building; especially one that separates an altar or chapel from the rest of a church.

Noun

parclose (plural parcloses)

  1. A partition that closes off part of a building; especially one that separates an altar or chapel from the rest of a church.
    • The two eastern bays of this aisle form the Golafre chapel and are inclosed by modern parcloses of oak[…]1906, Peter Hampson Ditchfield, William Page, John Hautenville Cope, The Victoria History of Berkshire
    • It is divided from the north aisle by the great screen, and from the chancel by a parclose of rather poor and spindling work.1910, Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art, Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art, page 194
  2. (obsolete) An enclosed area, especially one separated from the main body of a building by a screen or partition.
    • Thenne syr Percyual aspyed that therin was a man or a woman / for the vysage was couerd / thenne he left of his lokyng and herd his seruyse / And whan hit came to the sacrynge / he that lay within that Percloos dressid hym vp and vncouerd his heede / and thenne hym besemed a passynge old man / and...1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “Tercium”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XIV

Forms of parclose

pluralparcloses
alternative formparaclose
alternative formperclose

Origin of parclose

From Middle English parclose, perclose, from Old French parclos, perclose and others, Middle French parclose (“end, enclosure”), noun use of past participle of parclore (“to enclose”).

Questions about parclose

What does parclose mean?
Parclose means a partition that closes off part of a building; especially one that separates an altar or chapel from the rest of a church.
What part of speech is parclose?
Parclose is a noun.
How do you pronounce parclose?
Parclose is pronounced /ˈpɑːkləʊz/ (UK).
What is the plural of parclose?
The plural of parclose is parcloses.

Words near parclose in the dictionary

  1. parciantes
  2. parcimony
  3. parcity
  4. parclo
  5. parclos
  6. parclose
  7. parcloses
  8. parconazole
  9. parcook
  10. parcooked
  11. parcooking

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: parclose (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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