- near
[near 词源字典] - near: [12] Historically, near is a comparative form, and its ancestor originally meant ‘nearer’. It was borrowed from Old Norse náer, the comparative of ná- ‘near’, which came from the same prehistoric Germanic source as produced English nigh [OE] and next (not to mention German nah ‘near’). By the time it reached English it had lost its comparative force, and simply meant ‘close’ (which is also the sense of its modern Scandinavian descendants, Swedish nära and Danish nær).
=> neighbour, next, nigh[near etymology, near origin, 英语词源] - near (adv.)
- Old English near "closer, nearer," comparative of neah, neh"nigh." Influenced by Old Norse naer "near," it came to be used as a positive form mid-13c., and new comparative nearer developed 1500s (see nigh). As an adjective from c. 1300. Originally an adverb but now supplanted in most such senses by nearly; it has in turn supplanted correct nigh as an adjective. Related: Nearness. In near and dear (1620s) it refers to nearness of kinship. Near East first attested 1891, in Kipling. Near beer "low-alcoholic brew" is from 1908.
- near (v.)
- "to draw near," 1510s, from near (adv.). Related: Neared; nearing.
