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near

adj
/nɪə/UK/nɪː//nɪɹ/CA

Etymology

From Middle English nere, ner, from Old English nēar (“nearer”, comparative of nēah (“nigh”), the superlative would become next), influenced by Old Norse nær (“near”), both originating from Proto-Germanic *nēhwiz (“nearer”), comparative of the adverb *nēhw (“near”), from the adjective *nēhwaz, ultimately from Pre-Proto-Germanic *h₂nḗḱwos, a lengthened-grade adjective derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- (“to reach”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian nai, noi, näi (“close, near”), Saterland Frisian nai (“close, near”), Dutch na (“close”), naar (“to, towards”), Dutch Low Saxon nao (“after”), German nach (“after”), nahe (“near”), näher (“nearer”), German Low German nao, nå (“towards”), Luxembourgish no (“after”), Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk nær (“close, near”), Swedish när, nära (“close, near”), Gothic 𐌽𐌴𐍈 (nēƕ, “close, near”). See also nigh. Near appears to be derived from (or at the very least influenced by) the North Germanic languages; as opposed to nigh, which continues the inherited West Germanic adjective. Both, however, are ultimately derived from the same Proto-Germanic root: *nēhw (“near, close”).

  1. derived from *h₂neḱ-✻ — “to reach”
  2. derived from *nēhwiz✻ — “nearer”
  3. derived from nær — “near”
  4. inherited from nēar — “nearer”
  5. inherited from nere

Definitions

  1. Physically close.

    • I can't see near objects very clearly without my glasses.
    • Stay near at all times.
    • At the end of the line nearest the Arch, under a flary light, stood an old bearded man having the look on his face of a kindly but somewhat irritated moo-cow.

  2. Close in time.

    • The end is near.
    • We're getting near to Christmas.

  3. Closely connected or related.

    • The deceased man had no near relatives.
    • she is thy fathers neere kinswoman.
  4. ›+ 18 more definitions

    1. Close to one's interests, affection, etc.

      Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; intimate; dear.

      • It is a matter of near consequence to me.
      • a near friend

    2. Close to anything followed or imitated

      Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose, or rambling.

      • a version near to the original

    3. So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss

      So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close; narrow.

      • a near escape

    4. Approximate, almost.

      • The two words are near synonyms.

    5. On the side nearest to the kerb (the left-hand side if one drives on the left).

      • The near front wheel came loose.

    6. Next to the driver, when he is on foot

      Next to the driver, when he is on foot; (US) on the left of an animal or a team.

      • the near ox; the near leg

    7. Immediate

      Immediate; direct; close; short.

      • Toward ſolid good what leads the neareſt way;

    8. Stingy

      Stingy; parsimonious.

      • Don't be near with your pocketbook.
      • [T]o let you know, Miss, he's so near, it's partly a wonder how he lives at all: and yet he's worth a power of money, too.

    9. Within the currently selected segment in a segmented memory architecture.

      • a near pointer

    10. At or towards a position close in space or time.

    11. Nearly

      Nearly; almost.

      • He was near unconscious when I found him.
      • I jumped into the near-freezing water.
      • I near ruptured myself trying to move the piano.

    12. Physically close to, in close proximity to.

      • There are habitable planets orbiting many of the stars near our Sun.
      • Ts'ai Ch'ien 蔡乾 was born in 1908 in Changhua near Taichung, Taiwan (Formosa).
      • He entered the inn, and asking for dinner, unbuckled his wallet, and sat down to rest himself near the door.

    13. Close to in time.

      • The voyage was near completion.

    14. Close to in nature or degree.

      • His opinions are near the limit of what is acceptable.
      • There was no way Brín felt anything anywhere near what I felt for him. He saw me as a friend.

    15. To come closer to

      To come closer to; to approach.

      • The ship nears the land.
      • We started back in the same conditions, and for part of the journey ran through semi-darkness, but the sun appeared once again as we neared London.
      • As he neared a bridge over the East Coast Main Line near Great Heck, he lost control. His Land Rover left the carriageway and veered onto the hard shoulder before biting into the grass verge.

    16. The left side of a horse or of a team of horses pulling a carriage etc.

    17. Kidney.

    18. A surname.

The neighborhood

Derived

as near as matters, Kingston near Lewes, nearable, nearabout, nearabouts, near abroad, near-antonym, near as a toucher, nearbout, nearby, nearcation, near-earth, Near East, nearest and dearest, near-fall, nearfall, near gale, nearhand, near infrared, nearish, Near Islands, near letter-quality, nearline, nearling, nearly, near miss, near-native, nearness, near ox, near real-time, near relative, near rhyme, Near Sawrey, nearshore, near space, near surface, near-surface, near-syncope, near the mark, nearwork · +12 more

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for near. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA