What is "close vowel"

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.

   From a close bower this dainty music flowed.
   --Dryden.

2. Narrow; confined; as, a close alley; close quarters. ``A close prison.''
   --Dickens.

3. Oppressive; without motion or ventilation; causing a feeling of lassitude; -- said of the air, weather, etc.

   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.

4. Strictly confined; carefully quarded; as, a close prisoner.

5. Out of the way observation; secluded; secret; hidden. ``He yet kept himself close because of Saul.''
   --1 Chron. xii. 1

   ``Her close intent.''
   --Spenser.

6. Disposed to keep secrets; secretive; reticent. ``For secrecy, no lady closer.''
   --Shak.

7. Having the parts near each other; dense; solid; compact; as applied to bodies; viscous; tenacious; not volatile, as applied to liquids.

   The golden globe being put into a press, . . . the water made itself way through the pores of that very close metal.
   --Locke.

8. Concise; to the point; as, close reasoning. ``Where the original is close no version can reach it in the same compass.''
   --Dryden.

9. Adjoining; near; either in space; time, or thought; -- often followed by to.

   Plant the spring crocuses close to a wall.
   --Mortimer.

   The thought of the Man of sorrows seemed a very close thing -- not a faint hearsay.
   --G. Eliot.

10. Short; as, to cut grass or hair close.

11. Intimate; familiar; confidential.

    League with you I seek And mutual amity, so strait, so close, That I with you must dwell, or you with me.
    --Milton.

12. Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced; as, a close vote. ``A close contest.''
    --Prescott.

13. Difficult to obtain; as, money is close.
    --Bartlett.

14. Parsimonious; stingy. ``A crusty old fellow, as close as a vise.''
    --Hawthorne.

15. Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact; strict; as, a close translation.
    --Locke.

16. Accurate; careful; precise; also, attentive; undeviating; strict; not wandering; as, a close observer.

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.

    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.

Vowel \Vow"el\, n. [F. voyelle, or an OF. form without y, L. vocalis (sc. littera), from vocalis sounding, from vox, vocis, a voice, sound. See Vocal.] (Phon.) A vocal, or sometimes a whispered, sound modified by resonance in the oral passage, the peculiar resonance in each case giving to each several vowel its distinctive character or quality as a sound of speech; -- distinguished from a consonant in that the latter, whether made with or without vocality, derives its character in every case from some kind of obstructive action by the mouth organs. Also, a letter or character which represents such a sound. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 5, 146-149.

Note: In the English language, the written vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and y. The spoken vowels are much more numerous.

Close vowel. See under Close, a.

Vowel point. See under Point, n.

A close vowel, also known as a high vowel, is any in a class of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.

The term "close" (, as in the opposite of "far") is prescribed by the International Phonetic Association. Close vowels are often referred to as "high" vowels, as in the Americanist phonetic tradition, because the tongue is positioned high in the mouth during articulation.

In the context of the phonology of any particular language, a high vowel can be any vowel that is more close than a mid vowel. That is, close-mid vowels, near-close vowels, and close vowels can all be considered high vowels.