In English law . Certain letters of the king, sealed with his great seal, and directed to particular persons and for particular purposes, which, not being proper for public inspection , are closed up and sealed on the outside, and are thence called “writs close.” 2 Bl. Comm. 346; Sewell, Sheriffs, 372. Writs directed to the sheriff, instead of to the lord. 3 Reeve, Eng. Law, 45.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
