near

near
\ \ [12] Historically, near is a comparative form, and its ancestor originally meant ‘nearer’.
\ \ It was borrowed from Old Norse náer, the comparative of - ‘near’, which came from the same prehistoric Germanic source as produced English nigh [OE] and next (not to mention German nahnear’). By the time it reached English it had lost its comparative force, and simply meant ‘close’ (which is also the sense of its modern Scandinavian descendants, Swedish nära and Danish nær).
\ \ Cf.NEIGHBOUR, NEXT, NIGH

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Near — or Near may refer to: Contents 1 Science, mathematics, technology, biology, and medicine 2 Geography 3 Lingu …   Wikipedia

  • Near — Near, a. [Compar. {Nearer}; superl. {Nearest}.] [See {Near}, adv.] 1. Not far distant in time, place, or degree; not remote; close at hand; adjacent; neighboring; nigh. As one near death. Shak. [1913 Webster] He served great Hector, and was ever… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • near — [nir] adv. [ME nere < ON & OE: ON nær, near (orig. compar. of nā ): OE near, nearer, compar. of neah, NIGH] 1. at or to a relatively short distance in space or time [summer draws near] 2. relatively close in degree; almost: now usually nearly… …   English World dictionary

  • Near — (n[=e]r), adv. [AS. ne[ a]r, compar. of ne[ a]h nigh. See {Nigh}.] 1. At a little distance, in place, time, manner, or degree; not remote; nigh. [1913 Webster] My wife! my traitress! let her not come near me. Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. Nearly;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • near — near; near·ish; near·ly; near·most; near·ness; near·sight·ed·ly; near·sight·ed·ness; …   English syllables

  • near — near, nearly Near has almost fallen out of use as an adverb meaning ‘almost’, and nearly serves this purpose: He was nearly dead with fright. Exceptions include near complete and near perfect: • Gunnell, captain of the British women s team,… …   Modern English usage

  • near- — /nēr / combining form Denoting almost, as in nearˈ white of a colour closely resembling white, and nearˈ silkˈ artificial silk * * * near UK [nɪə(r)] US [nɪr] prefix almost used with many nouns and adjectives It’s a near certainty (=it will… …   Useful english dictionary

  • NEAR — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Holly Near (* 1949), US amerikanische Sängerin NEAR ist die Abkürzung für: Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous, eine US amerikanische Raumsonde, siehe NEAR Shoemaker Diese Seite ist eine …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • near — [adj1] close by physically abreast, abutting, adjacent, adjoining, alongside, along toward, approximal, around, at close quarters, available, beside, bordering, burning, close, close at hand, close by, close shave*, conterminous, contiguous,… …   New thesaurus

  • Near — Near, prep. Adjacent to; close by; not far from; nigh; as, the ship sailed near the land. See the Note under {near}, a. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Near — Near, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Neared}; p. pr. & vb. n {Nearing}.] [See {Near}, adv.] To approach; to come nearer; as, the ship neared the land. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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