Etymology

closed caption

Today it means: Text which can be displayed on a television or other video screen with suitable equipment, usually a transcription or description of audio material. Full definition →

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The story

"Closed" originally indicated that such captions were by default not visible until activated (opened) by the viewer turning them on, in contrast to open captions which are embedded in the video itself, visible to all.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.