claudo

Claudo is a Latin verb meaning to close, shut, confine, or enclose. It belongs to the third conjugation and has the principal parts claudo, claudere, clausi, clausum. In the present active indicative it appears as claudo, claudis, claudit, claudimus, clauditis, claudent, and it is used transitively with a direct object in the accusative.

In usage, claudo denotes a physical act of closing or sealing something, such as doors, gates, or openings, and it can be employed metaphorically to mean ending or closing an affair, argument, or relationship. Example: Portas claudit, “he closes the doors.” The verb also participates in common Latin idioms and set phrases involving enclosure, boundary, or restriction.

The verb forms a core part of Latin morphology. The perfect active is clausi, clausisti, clausit, clausimus, clausistis, clausērunt; the supine is clausum, and the perfect passive participle is clausus. The gerund is claudendo, and the gerundive is clausandus. The root claus- is the basis for related words such as clausus and clausula, and it is a common source of English loanwords and roots such as clause and close.

In classical texts, claudo appears across many genres, from everyday narration to legal and rhetorical contexts, illustrating a regular and productive example of the 3rd-conjugation verb pattern in Latin.