Ō'pen1, a.
(ō′pn, 20), a. [A-S. open, imp. from an hypothetical eópan, to open, D. open, Icel. opinn, Sw. öppen, Dan. aaben, L. Ger. apen, O. H. Ger. offan, N. H. Ger. offen.]
Sense 1. Free of access; not shut up; not closed; affording unobstructed ingress or egress; not impeding or obstructing motion; also, sometimes, not locked up, or covered over; — applied to passage-ways; as, an open door, window, road, &c.; also, to inclosed structures or objects; as, open houses, boxes, baskets, bottles, &c.; also, to means of communication or approach by water or land; as, an open harbor or roadstead, an open field or common, the open country, &c.
Through the gate, Wide open and unguarded, Satan passed. Milton.
Sense 2. Free to be used, employed, enjoyed, visited, read, or the like; not private; public; unrestricted in use; liable to the approach of any one; exposed; as, an open book or letter; an open library, museum, court, or other assembly; an open view or prospect.
If Demetrius . . . have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies; let them implead one another. Acta xix. 38.
The service that I truly did his life Hath left me open to all injuries. Shak.
Sense 3. Not drawn together or contracted; expanded; as, an open hand; open arms; an open flower.
Each, with open arms, embraced her chosen knight. Dryden.
Sense 4. Hence, (a.) Without reserve; frank; easily understood; hearty; cordial; generous; liberal; bounteous; — applied to personal character, and the expression of thought and feeling. “With aspect open shall erect his head.” Pope.
The Moor is of a free and open nature. Shak.
The French are always open, familiar, and talkative. Addison.
(b.) Not concealed or secret; not hidden; exposed to view; clear; undisguised; apparent; artless; — applied to schemes, plans, devices, and the like.
We are to exercise our thoughts, and lay open the treasures of divine truth. Burnet.
Sense 5. Not frozen up; not stiffened with cold; not locked with ice; not frosty; mild; moderate; as, an open Polar Sea; an open river; the canal is still open.
An open and warm winter portendeth a hot and dry summer. Bacon.
Sense 6. Not settled or adjusted; not balanced or closed; as, an open account; an open policy.
Sense 7. Not blinded or obscured; not unwilling to see; attentive.
Thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men. Jer. xxxii. 19.
Sense 8. Not deaf; not unwilling to hear; listening.
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. Ps. xxxiv. 15.
Sense 9. Free to be discussed; not settled or closed up by a decision; as, an open question.
Sense 10. Easily enunciated; spoken without closing the mouth. “Though oft the ear the open vowels tire.” Pope.
Sense 11. (Mus.) Not closed or stopped with the finger; — said of the string of an instrument, as of a violin, when it is not pressed, but is allowed to vibrate throughout its whole length.
In open, in full view; without concealment; openly. Beau. & Fl.—Open diapason (Mus.), a certain stop in an organ, in which the pipes or tubes are formed like the mouthpiece of a flageolet at the end where the wind enters, and are open at the other end.—Open harmony, harmony the tones of which are widely dispersed, or separated by wide intervals.—Open tone, a tone produced by an open string, that is, by a string vibrating throughout its whole length.—Open vowel, or sound, a vowel or sound pronounced with a larger aperture of the lips or cavity of the mouth, as compared with others called close vowels or sounds.
Synonyms—Candid; ingenuous; unclosed; uncovered; unprotected; exposed; plain; apparent; obvious; evident; public; unreserved; frank; sincere; undissembling; artless. See CANDID and INGENUOUS.