near

English Online Dictionary. What means near‎? What does near mean?

English

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”).

Cognate with Old Frisian niār (“nearer”), Dutch naar (“to, towards”), German näher (“nearer”), Danish nær (“near, close”), Norwegian nær (“near, close”) Swedish nära (“near, close”). See also nigh.

Near appears to be derived from (or at the very least influenced by) the North Germanic languages; compare Danish nær (“near, close”), Norwegian nær (“near, close”) Swedish nära (“near, close”), as opposed to nigh, which continues the inherited West Germanic adjective, like Dutch na (“close, near”), German nah (“close, near, nearby”), Luxembourgish no (“nearby, near, close”). Both, however, are ultimately derived from the same Proto-Germanic root: *nēhw (“near, close”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: nîr; IPA^(key): /nɪə̯(ɹ)/
• (Standard Southern British) IPA^(key): /nɪː(ɹ)/
• (US) enPR: nîr; IPA^(key): /nɪɚ/
• (General Australian) enPR: nîr; IPA^(key): /nɪə̯/, [nɪː]
• (Canada) IPA^(key): [niːɹ]
• (cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /nɛə/
• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Adjective

near (comparative nearer, superlative nearest)

1. Physically close.

   Synonym: close

   Antonym: remote

2. Close in time.

3. Closely connected or related.
4. Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; intimate; dear.

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

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

7. Approximate, almost.

8. (British, in relation to a vehicle) On the side nearest to the kerb (the left-hand side if one drives on the left).

   Antonym: off

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

10. (obsolete) Immediate; direct; close; short.
11. (now rare) Stingy; parsimonious. [from 17th c.]
12. (programming, not comparable) Within the currently selected segment in a segmented memory architecture.

    Antonym: far

Usage notes

• Near was originally the comparative form of nigh; the superlative form was next. Nigh is used today mostly in archaic, poetic, or regional contexts.

Synonyms

• (physically close): see also Thesaurus:near
• (almost): nigh, quasi-

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “physically close”): see also Thesaurus:distant
• (antonym(s) of “side of an animal or vehicle”): off

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

near (comparative nearer, superlative nearest)

1. At or towards a position close in space or time. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
2. Nearly; almost.

Usage notes

The sense of nearly or almost is dialect, colloquial, old-fashioned or poetic in certain uses, such as, in many cases, when near is used to directly modify a verb.

Derived terms

• near-minimal pair
• near-sighted

Translations

Preposition

near

2. Physically close to, in close proximity to.
3. Close to in time.

4. Close to in nature or degree.

Usage notes

Joan Maling (1983) shows that near is best analysed as an adjective with which the use of to is optional, rather than a preposition. It has the comparative and the superlative, and it can be followed by enough. The use of to however is usually British.

Antonyms

• far from

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

near (third-person singular simple present nears, present participle nearing, simple past and past participle neared)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To come closer to; to approach.

Translations

See also

• near on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• para-
• nigh

Noun

near (plural nears)

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

   Synonym: near side

   Antonym: off side

See also

• nearside

References

• “near”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Joan Maling (1983), Transitive Adjectives: A Case of Categorial Reanalysis, in F. Henry and B. Richards (eds.), Linguistic Categories: Auxiliaries and Related Puzzles, vol.1, pp. 253-289.

Anagrams

• nare, eRNA, earn, Nera, rean, Rane, Earn, Arne, erna, EARN

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈne.ar/, [ˈneär]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈne.ar/, [ˈnɛːär]

Verb

near

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of neō

Latvian

Verb

near

1. inflection of neart:
   1. second/third-person singular present indicative
   2. third-person plural present indicative
   3. second-person singular imperative
2. (with the particle lai) third-person singular imperative of neart
3. (with the particle lai) third-person plural imperative of neart

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• ne n

Etymology

From Old Norse niðar, nominative and accusative plural of nið f (“waning moon”).

Noun

near pl (definite plural neane)

1. a lunar phase of an old moon, i.e. period of time in which the moon is waning

   Antonym: ny

References

• “ne” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• aner, Arne, Erna, nare, rane, rena, Rena

Yola

Alternative forms

• naar, neer, n'eer, ne'er, ne're, neveare

Etymology

From Middle English nevere, from Old English nǣfre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /niː/, /nɛˈviː/

Adverb

near

1. never

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 59