Emily Dickinson Lexicon

O-PEN, v.t. [o'pn; Sax. openian; D. openen; G. öffnen; Sw. öpna; Dan. aabner; Ar. بَانَ bana or bauna. Class Bn, No. 3.]

1. To unclose; to unbar; to unlock; to remove any fastening or cover and set open; as, to open a door or gate; to open a desk.
2. To break the seal of a letter and unfold it.
3. To separate parts that are close; as, to open the lips; to open the mouth or eyes or eyelids; to open a book.
4. To remove a covering from; as, to open a pit.
5. To cut through; to perforate; to lance; as, to open the skin; to open an abscess.
6. To break; to divide; to split or rend; as, the earth was opened in many places by an earthquake; a rock is opened by blasting.
7. To clear; to make by removing obstructions; as, to open a road; to open a passage; the heat of spring opens rivers bound with ice.
8. To spread; to expand; as, to open the hand.
9. To unstop; as, to open a bottle.
10. To begin; to make the first exhibition. The attorney-general opens the cause on the part of the king or the state. Homer opens his poem with the utmost simplicity and modesty.
11. To show; to bring to view or knowledge. The English did adventure far to open the north parts of America. Abbot.
12. To interpret; to explain. While he opened to us the Scriptures. Luke xxiv.
13. To reveal; to disclose. He opened his mind very freely.
14. To make liberal; as, to open the heart.
15. To make the first discharge of artillery; as, to open a heavy fire on the enemy.
16. To enter on or begin; as, to open a negotiation or correspondence; to open a trade with the Indies.
17. To begin to see by the removal of something that intercepted the view; as, we sailed round the point and opened the harbor.