Hypertext Webster Gateway: "near"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Near \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.

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

2. Nearly; almost; well-nigh. ``Near twenty years ago.''
--Shak. ``Near a fortnight ago.'' --Addison.

Near about the yearly value of the land. --Locke.

3. Closely; intimately. --Shak.

{Far and near}, at a distance and close by; throughout a
whole region.

{To come near to}, to want but little of; to approximate to.
``Such a sum he found would go near to ruin him.''
--Addison.

{Near the wind} (Naut.), close to the wind; closehauled.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Near \Near\, prep.
Adjacent to; close by; not far from; nigh; as, the ship
sailed near the land. See the Note under {near}, a.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

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.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

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.

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

2. Closely connected or related.

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

3. Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; touching, or
affecting intimately; intimate; dear; as, a near friend.

4. Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose,
or rambling; as, a version near to the original.

5. So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close;
narrow; as, a near escape.

6. Next to the driver, when he is on foot; in the Unted
States, on the left of an animal or a team; as, the near
ox; the near leg. See {Off side}, under {Off}, a.

7. Immediate; direct; close; short. ``The nearest way.''
--Milton.

8. Close-fisted; parsimonious. [Obs. or Low, Eng.]

Note: Near may properly be followed by to before the thing
approached'; but more frequently to is omitted, and the
adjective or the adverb is regarded as a preposition.
The same is also true of the word nigh.

Syn: Nigh; close; adjacent; proximate; contiguous; present;
ready; intimate; dear.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Near \Near\, v. i.
To draw near; to approach.

A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist! And still it neared,
and neared. --Coleridge.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

near
adj 1: not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances;
"near neighbors"; "in the near future"; "they are near
equals"; "his nearest approach to success"; "a very
near thing"; "a near hit by the bomb"; "she was near
tears"; "she was close to tears"; "had a close call"
[syn: {close}] [ant: {far}]
2: being on the left side; "the near or nigh horse is the one
on the left"; "the animal's left side is its near or nigh
side" [syn: {near(a)}, {nigh(a)}]
3: closely resembling the genuine article; "near beer"; "a
dress of near satin"
4: giving or spending with reluctance; "our cheeseparing
administration"; "very close (or near) with his money"; "a
penny-pinching miserly old man" [syn: {cheeseparing}, {close},
{penny-pinching}]
5: with or in a close or intimate relationship; "a good
friend"; "my sisters and brothers are near and dear" [syn:
{dear}, {good}]
6: very close in resemblance; "sketched in an approximate
likeness"; "a near likeness" [syn: {approximate}]
7: (comparative of `close') indicating the one of two that is
the shorter distance away; "take the near street and ten
turn right" [syn: {closer}]
adv 1: near in time or place or relationship; "as the wedding day
drew near"; "stood near the door"; "don't shoot until
they come near"; "getting near to the true
explanation"; "her mother is always near"; "The end
draws nigh"; "the bullet didn't come close"; "don't
get too close to the fire" [syn: {nigh}, {close}]
2: (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite
accomplished; "the job is (just) about done"; "the baby
was almost asleep when the alarm sounded"; "we're almost
finished"; "the car all but ran her down"; "he nearly
fainted"; "talked for nigh onto 2 hours"; "the recording
is well-nigh perfect"; "virtually all the parties signed
the contract"; (`near' is used informally for `nearly' as
in "I was near exhausted by the run"; `most' is used
informally for `almost' as in "most everybody agrees")
[syn: {about}, {just about}, {almost}, {most}, {all but},
{nearly}, {nigh}, {virtually}, {well-nigh}]
v : move towards; "We were approaching our destination"; "They
are drawing near"; "The enemy army came nearer and
nearer" [syn: {approach}, {come on}, {go up}, {draw near},
{draw close}, {come near}]


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