Also, figuratively, used of the ways of communication of the mind, as by the senses; ready to hear, see,
etc.; as, to keep one's eyes and ears open.
His ears are open unto their cry.
Ps. xxxiv. 15. 2. Free to be used, enjoyed, visited, or the like; not private; public; unrestricted in use; as, an open library,
museum, court, or other assembly; liable to the approach, trespass, or attack of any one; unprotected; exposed.
If Demetrius . . . have a matter against any man, the law is open and there are deputies.
Acts xix. 33.
The service that I truly did his life,
Hath left me open to all injuries.
Shak. 3. Free or cleared of obstruction to progress or to view; accessible; as, an open tract; the open sea.
4. Not drawn together, closed, or contracted; extended; expanded; as, an open hand; open arms; an open
flower; an open prospect.
Each, with open arms, embraced her chosen knight.
Dryden. 5. Hence: (a) Without reserve or false pretense; sincere; characterized by sincerity; unfeigned; frank; also,
generous; liberal; bounteous; — applied to personal appearance, or character, and to the expression of
thought and feeling, etc.
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 or disguised; exposed to view or to knowledge; revealed; apparent; as,
open schemes or plans; open shame or guilt.
His thefts are too open.
Shak.
That I may find him, and with secret gaze
Or open admiration him behold.
Milton. 6. Not of a quality to prevent communication, as by closing water ways, blocking roads, etc.; hence, not
frosty or inclement; mild; — used of the weather or the climate; as, an open season; an open winter. Bacon.
7. Not settled or adjusted; not decided or determined; not closed or withdrawn from consideration; as, an
open account; an open question; to keep an offer or opportunity open.
8. Free; disengaged; unappropriated; as, to keep a day open for any purpose; to be open for an engagement.
9. (Phon.) (a) Uttered with a relatively wide opening of the articulating organs; — said of vowels; as,
the än fär is open as compared with the a in say. (b) Uttered, as a consonant, with the oral passage
simply narrowed without closure, as in uttering s.
10. (Mus.) (a) Not closed or stopped with the finger; — said of the string of an instrument, as of a
violin, when it is allowed to vibrate throughout its whole length. (b) Produced by an open string; as, an
open tone.
The open air, the air out of doors. — Open chain. (Chem.) See Closed chain, under Chain. —
Open circuit (Elec.), a conducting circuit which is incomplete, or interrupted at some point; — opposed
to an uninterrupted, or closed circuit. — Open communion, communion in the Lord's supper not
restricted to persons who have been baptized by immersion. Cf. Close communion, under Close, a.
— Open diapason (Mus.), a certain stop in an organ, in which the pipes or tubes are formed like the
