Near | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Nēar, a.

adjective

(neer), a. [compar. NEARER; superl. NEAREST.] [A.-S. neāra, nyra, nigher, compar. of neāh, nēh, nigh; Icel. nārri, Dan. nær, Sw. nära, O. Sax. nāhor, O. H. Ger. nāhere, M. H. Ger. nāher, nār, N. H. Ger. nāher, D. näger.]

Sense 1. Not far distant; not remote; nigh; as, (a.) Not distant in place; close by one; adjacent; neighboring.

He served great Hector, and was ever near, Not with his trumpet only, but his spear. Dryden.

(b.) Not distant in time; imminent. “As one near death.” Shak. (c.) Not remote in degree; closely connected or related.

She is thy father's near kinswoman. Lev. xviii. 12.

(d.) Close to one's interests, affection, &c.; touching or affecting intimately; intimate; dear; as, a near concern; a near friend. (e.) Close to any thing followed or imitated; not free, loose, or rambling; as, a version near the original. Dryden. (f.) Next to the rider or driver; on the left of a team; as, the near ox.

Sense 2. Serving, as it were, to bring the object closer; immediate; direct; close; as, a near way; the nearest road.

Sense 3. Close-fisted; parsimonious; illiberal. Hales.

Near is properly followed by to before the thing approached; but more frequently to is omitted, and the adjective and adverb pass into a preposition. The same is also true of the word nigh.

Synonyms—Nigh; close; adjacent; proximate; contiguous; present; ready; intimate; familiar; dear.

Nēar, adv.

adverb

(neer), adv. [A-S. neár, nyr, nēr, compar. of neáh, Icel. & Dan. när, Sw. nära. See suprà.]

Sense 1. At a little distance only, in place or time, in manner or degree; not remote.

My wife! my traitress! let her not come near me. Milton.

Sense 2. Within a little; almost; well-nigh; nearly. “Near about the yearly value of the land.” Locke.

To come or go near to, to want but little of; to approximate to; to almost accomplish. “Such a sum he found would go near to ruin him.” Addison.

Nēar, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. NEARED; p. pr. & vb. n. NEARING.] [Dan. nāre, Sw. nāra, Ger. nähern. See supra.] To approach; to come nearer; as, the ship neared the land.

Nēar, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. To draw near; to approach. A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist! And still it neared, and neared. Coleridge.

Nēar, prep.

preposition

prep. 1. Adjacent to; close by; not far from; as, the ship is near the land. [See Note under NEAR, a.] 2. At; as, the Russian minister near the court of St. James. [A Gallicism.] [Rare.]