Near , v. i. To draw near; to
approach.
A speck, a mist, a shape,
I wist!
And still it
neared, and neared.
Coleridge.
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.
Near , prep. Adjacent to; close by; not
far from; nigh; as, the
ship sailed near the land. See
the Note under near, a.
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.]
&fist; 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.
Near (nēr),
adv. [AS. neár, compar. of neáh 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.
Hear it pronounced