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Origin and history of near

near(adv.)

Old English near "closer, nearer," comparative of neah, neh "nigh." Partially by the influence of Old Norse naer "near," it came to be used in English as a positive form mid-13c., and new comparative nearer developed in the 1500s (see nigh). Originally an adverb but now supplanted in most such senses by nearly; it has in turn supplanted correct nigh as an adjective.

The adjectival use dates from c. 1300, "being close by, not distant;" from late 14c. as "closely related by kinship;" 1610s as "economical, parsimonious." Colloquial use for "so as to barely escape injury or danger" (as in a near thing, near miss) is by 1751. As a preposition, "close to, close by, near in space or time," from mid-13c. Related: Nearness. In near and dear (1620s) it refers to nearness of kinship. Near East is by 1894 (probably based on Far East). Near beer "low-alcoholic brew" is from 1908.

near(v.)

"to draw near, approach," 1510s, from near (adv.). Related: Neared; nearing.

also from 1510s

Entries linking to near

nigh(adv.)

"near, nearby, close together, adjacent," Middle English neigh, from Old English neah (West Saxon, Kentish), neh (Anglian), from Proto-Germanic *naehwa- (source also of Old Saxon nah, Old Frisian nei, Middle Dutch, Dutch na, Old High German nah, German nah, Gothic nehwa), of uncertain origin, with no cognates outside Germanic. The Old English progression was neah - near - niehsta, for "nigh - nigher - nighest." But the comparative near and the superlative nehst (see next) gradually evolved into separate words that were no longer felt as related to nigh. New comparative and superlative forms nigher, nighest developed 14c. as phonetic changes obscured the original relationships. As an adjective and preposition in Middle English.

anear(adv.)

"nearly," c. 1600, from a- (1) + near (adv.). The meaning "close by" (opposite of afar) is from 1798. As a preposition, "near to," 1732.

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Trends of near

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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far

Middle English fer, from Old English feorr "far, remote, distant," from Proto-Germanic *ferera- (cognates: Old Saxon fer, Old Frisian fer, Old Norse fjarre, Dutch ver, Old High German ferro, German fern), probably a development in western Proto-Germanic from the adverb (see far (

about

Middle English aboute, from Old English abutan (adv., prep.), earlier onbutan "on the outside of; around the circumference of, enveloping; in the vicinity of, near; hither and thither, from place to place," also "with a rotating or spinning motion," in late Old English "near in t

most

Old English mast "greatest in number, amount, or extent; largest," earlier mæst, from Proto-Germanic *maistaz (source also of Old Saxon mest, Old Frisian mast, Old Norse mestr, Dutch meest, German meist, Gothic maists "most"), superlative form of Proto-Germanic *maiz, root of Old

approach

c. 1300, "to go or come near" in place; by late 14c. as "come near" in time, also "come near in quality or character, resemble...adpropiare "go nearer to," from Latin ad "to" (see ad-) + Late Latin propiare "come nearer," comparative of Latin prope "near...

myopia

"short-sightedness," 1727, medical Latin, from Late Greek myōpia "near-sightedness," from myōps "near-sighted," literally..."closing the eyes, blinking," on the notion of "squinting, contracting the eyes" (as near-sighted people do), from myein...

proximate

neighboring; next, immediate, without intervention of a third," from Late Latin proximatus, past participle of proximare "to draw near...next; most direct; adjoining," figuratively "latest, most recent; next, following; most faithful," superlative of prope "near...

propinquity

directly from Latin propinquitatem (nominative propinquitas) "nearness, vicinity; relationship, affinity," from propinquus "near..., neighboring," from prope "near," with loss of second -r- by dissimilation, from PIE *propro "on and on, ever further" (...Sanskrit pra-pra "on and on," Greek pro-pro "before, on and on"), from root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, toward, near...

approximate

1640s, "near in position, close to," from Late Latin approximatus, past participle of approximare "to come near to," from Latin ad "to" (see ad-) + proximare "come near," from proximus "nearest," superlative of prope "near" (see propinquity). The meaning "near in accuracy or corr

dare

Middle English durren, daren, from first and third person singular of Old English durran "be bold enough, have courage" (to do something), also transitive "to venture, presume," from Proto-Germanic *ders- (source also of Old Norse dearr, Old High German giturran, Gothic gadaursan

dear

Old English deore (Anglian diore, West Saxon dyre), "precious, valuable; costly, expensive; glorious, noble; loved, beloved, regarded with affection" from Proto-Germanic *deurja- (source also of Old Saxon diuri "precious, dear, expensive," Old Norse dyrr, Old Frisian diore "expen

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