Meanings
plural enclosures · alternative inclosure
- countableSomething that is enclosed, i.e. inserted into a letter or similar package.
There was an enclosure with the letter — a photo.
1 more example
Mr Carlyle cut open the envelope, glanced at the enclosure, and in spite of his disappointment could not restrain a chuckle.
1914, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados - uncountableThe act of enclosing, i.e. the insertion or inclusion of an item in a letter or package.
The enclosure of a photo with your letter is appreciated.
- countableAn area, domain, or amount of something partially or entirely enclosed by barriers.
The glass enclosure holds the mercury vapor.
4 more examples
He faced punishment for creating the fenced enclosure in a public park.
The winning horse was first into the unsaddling enclosure.
And the village was deserted, the huts gaped black, rotting, all askew within the fallen enclosures.
1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 199Away from the village, there was an enclosure containing several large animals of a kind I had not seen before—shaggy, long-necked, small-headed creatures who stood or lay at ease around their pen. Alpacas?
1989, Octavia E. Butler, “Part III, Chapter 7”, in Imago, page 210 - uncountableThe act of separating and surrounding an area, domain, or amount of something with a barrier.
At first, untrained horses resist enclosure.
2 more examples
The enclosure of public land is against the law.
The experiment requires the enclosure of mercury vapor in a glass tube.
- broadlyuncountableThe act of restricting access to ideas, works of art or technologies using patents or intellectual property laws.
The commons evokes resistance to “enclosure” in all its forms, whether in its early proto-capitalist form of fencing in commonly shared land, or in its contemporary forms of marshalling judicial restraints such as “patent” and “intellectual property” to police the ownership of ideas.
2019, Robert Stam, World Literature, Transnational Cinema, and Global Media, Routledge, →ISBN1 more example
Copyright, from day one, was designed to be both an impediment and an incentive, a mechanism of enclosure (one that prevented the unlicensed printing of texts, thereby limiting access) and a catalyst of sorts, a structure to stimulate the production of literary goods by rewarding writers and publishers for their labor.
2014, Astra Taylor, chapter 5, in The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN - uncountableBritish HistoryThe post-feudal process of subdivision of common lands for individual ownership.
Strip-farming disappeared after enclosure.
1 more example
'[…] The inclosure of Norland Common, now carrying on, is a most serious drain. […]'
1811, [Jane Austen], chapter XI, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe act of enclosing something inside something else
nounsomething (usually a supporting document) that is enclosed in an envelope with a covering letter
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*kleh₂u-“key, hook, nail”
- Latininclūdere, inclūdō
- Old Frenchenclosure
- Middle Englishenclosure
- Englishenclosure
From Middle English enclosure, from Old French enclosure, from enclore, from Latin inclūdere, inclūdō, from in- (“in”) + claudō (“to shut”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u- (“key, hook, nail”). Alike to inclusion. By surface analysis, enclose + -ure.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek περίβολος
- περίβολος (períbolos)area partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
Bulgarian приложе́ние, оградено място
- приложе́ние (priložénie)something enclosed
- оградено място (ogradeno mjasto)area partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
Catalan tancament, clausura
- tancamentsomething enclosed
- clausuraact of enclosing
- tancamentact of enclosing
- tancatarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- clausurainaccessible part of the monastery
Chinese Mandarin 附件, 圍場 /围场
- 附件 (fùjiàn)something enclosed
- 圍場 /围场 (wéichǎng)area partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- 圈地運動 /圈地运动 (quāndì yùndòng)post-feudal process of subdivision of common lands for individual ownership
Czech příloha, oplocení
- přílohasomething enclosed
- oploceníact of enclosing
- ohrazeníact of enclosing
- ohrazeníact of separating and surrounding an area etc. with a barrier
Danish indlæg, bilag
- indlægsomething enclosed
- bilagsomething enclosed
- indhegningarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
Finnish liite, suljettu alue
- liitesomething enclosed
- suljettu aluearea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- aidattu aluearea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
French pièce jointe, encloitrer
- pièce jointesomething enclosed
- encloitreract of enclosing
- encloîtreract of enclosing
- enclosarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- cloitreract of separating and surrounding an area etc. with a barrier
- cloîtreinaccessible part of the monastery
German Anlage, Beilage
- Anlagesomething enclosed
- Beilagesomething enclosed
- Beilegenact of enclosing
- Beifügenact of enclosing
- Hinzufügenact of enclosing
- Gehegearea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- eingefriedetes Grundstückarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- Einschließungarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- Einzäunenact of separating and surrounding an area etc. with a barrier
- Einschließenact of separating and surrounding an area etc. with a barrier
- Klausurinaccessible part of the monastery
Hindi संलग्न, बाड़ा
- संलग्न (sanlagna)something enclosed
- बाड़ा (bāṛā)area partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- बाड़ (bāṛ)area partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
Icelandic girðing
- girðingarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
Irish clós, bábhún
- clósarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- bábhúnarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- banracharea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- locaarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- mainneararea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- fálarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
Italian allegato, recinto
- allegatosomething enclosed
- recintoarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- clausurainaccessible part of the monastery
Japanese 別紙, 囲い込み
- 別紙 (besshi)something enclosed
- 囲い込み (kakoikomi)area partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
Latin clausum, clausum
- clausumsomething enclosed
- clausumarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- clausurainaccessible part of the monastery
Māori taiepatanga, tāepatanga
- taiepatangaact of enclosing
- tāepatangaact of enclosing
- taiepatangaact of separating and surrounding an area etc. with a barrier
- tāepatangaact of separating and surrounding an area etc. with a barrier
Norwegian Bokmål innhegning
- innhegningarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
Polish klauzura
- klauzurainaccessible part of the monastery
Portuguese cercado
- cercadoarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
Romanian împrejmuire
- împrejmuirearea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
Russian приложе́ние, вложе́ние
- приложе́ние (priložénije)something enclosed
- вложе́ние (vložénije)something enclosed
- включение (vključenije)act of enclosing
- вложение (vloženije)act of enclosing
- огоро́женное ме́сто (ogoróžennoje mésto)area partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- ограждение (ograždenije)act of separating and surrounding an area etc. with a barrier
Spanish encierro, cercamiento
- encierrosomething enclosed
- cercamientosomething enclosed
- encierroact of enclosing
- cercamientoact of enclosing
- encierreact of enclosing
- encerraduraact of enclosing
- encerramientoact of enclosing
- encierroarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- recintoarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- teleraarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- redilarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- apriscoarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
Swedish inhägnad, hage
- inhägnadarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- hagearea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- inhägnandepost-feudal process of subdivision of common lands for individual ownership
Turkish ilişik, çevrelenmiş
- ilişiksomething enclosed
- çevrelenmişarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- çitlenmişarea partially or entirely enclosed by walls, fences or buildings
- çitlemepost-feudal process of subdivision of common lands for individual ownership
Cite this entry
enclosure. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enclosure
“enclosure.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enclosure. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “enclosure,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enclosure.
Source: enclosure on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.