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, prep. Adjacent to; close by; not far from; nigh; as, the ship
sailed near the land. See the Note under near, a.
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, v. i. To draw near; to approach.
A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist! And still it neared, and neared.
Coleridge.
Ne*arc"tic (?), a. [Neo + arctic.] Of or pertaining to a region of the
earth's surface including all of temperate and arctic North America and
Greenland. In the geographical distribution of animals, this region is
marked off as the habitat certain species.
Near"hand` (?), a. & adv. Near; near at hand; closely. [Obs. or Scot.]
Bacon.
Near"-legged` (?), a. Having the feet so near together that they
interfere in traveling. Shak.
Near"ly, adv. In a near manner; not remotely; closely; intimately;
almost.
Near"ness, n. The state or quality of being near; -- used in the
various senses of the adjective.
Near"sight`ed (?), a. Seeing distinctly at short distances only;
shortsighted. -- Near"sight`ed*ness, n. See Myopic, and Myopia.
Neat (?), n. sing. & pl. [AS. neát; akin to OHG. n&?;z, Icel. naut, Sw.
nöt, Dan. nöd, and to AS. neótan to make use of, G. geniessen, Goth.
niutan to have a share in, have joy of, Lith. nauda use, profit.]
(Zoöl.) Cattle of the genus Bos, as distinguished from horses, sheep,
and goats; an animal of the genus Bos; as, a neat's tongue; a neat's
foot. Chaucer.
Wherein the herds[men] were keeping of their neat.
Spenser.
The steer, the heifer, and the calf Are all called neat.
Shak.
A neat and a sheep of his own.
Tusser.
Neat's-foot, an oil obtained by boiling the feet of neat cattle. It is
used to render leather soft and pliable.
Neat, a. [See neat, n.] Of or pertaining to the genus Bos, or to cattle
of that genus; as, neat cattle.
Neat, a. [Compar. Neater (?); superl. Neatest.] [OE. nett, F. nett, fr.
L. nitidus, fr. nitere to shine. Cf. Nitid, Net, a., Natty.] 1. Free
from that which soils, defiles, or disorders; clean; cleanly; tidy.
If you were to see her, you would wonder what poor body it was that
was so surprisingly neat and clean.
Law.
2. Free from what is unbecoming, inappropriate, or tawdry; simple and
becoming; pleasing with simplicity; tasteful; chaste; as, a neat style;
a neat dress.
3. Free from admixture or adulteration; good of its kind; as, neat
brandy. "Our old wine neat." Chapman.
4. Excellent in character, skill, or performance, etc.; nice; finished;
adroit; as, a neat design; a neat thief.
5. With all deductions or allowances made; net. [In this sense usually
written net. See Net, a., 3.]
neat line (Civil Engin.), a line to which work is to be built or
formed. -- Neat work, work built or formed to neat lines.
Syn. -- Nice; pure; cleanly; tidy; trim; spruce.
'Neath (? or &?;), prep. & adv. An abbreviation of Beneath. [Poetic]
Neat"herd` (?), n. A person who has the care of neat cattle; a cowherd.
Dryden.
Neat"house` (?), n. A building for the shelter of neat cattle. [Obs. or
Prov. Eng.] Massinger.
Neat"i*fy (?), v. t. [Neat, a. + -fy.] To make neat. [Obs.] olland.
Neat"ly, adv. In a neat manner; tidily; tastefully.
neat"ness, n. The state or quality of being neat.
Neat"ress (?), n. [From neat cattle.] A woman who takes care of cattle.
[R.] Warner.
Neb (?), n. [AS. nebb head, face; akin to D. neb, Icel. nef, beak of a
bird, nose, Dan. næb beak, bill, Sw. näbb, näf, and prob. also to D.
sneb, snavel, bill, beak, G. schnabel, Dan. & Sw. snabel, and E. snap.
Cf. Nib, Snap, Snaffle.] The nose; the snout; the mouth; the beak of a
bird; a nib, as of a pen. [Also written nib.] Shak.
<! p. 967 !>
||Ne*ba"li*a (?), n. [NL., of uncertain origin.] (Zoöl.) A genus of
||small marine Crustacea, considered the type of a distinct order
||(Nebaloidea, or Phyllocarida.)
Neb"-neb` (?), n. Same as Bablh.
Neb"u*la (?), n.; pl. Nebulæ (#). [L., mist, cloud; akin to Gr. &?;,
&?;, cloud, mist, G. nebel mist, OHG. nebul, D. nevel, Skr. nabhas
cloud, mist. Cf. Nebule.] 1. (Astron.) A faint, cloudlike, self-
luminous mass of matter situated beyond the solar system among the
stars. True nebulæ are gaseous; but very distant star clusters often
appear like them in the telescope.
2. (Med.) (a) A white spot or a slight opacity of the cornea. (b) A
cloudy appearance in the urine. [Obs.]
Neb"u*lar (?), a. Of or pertaining to nebulæ; of the nature of, or
resembling, a nebula.
Nebular hypothesis, an hypothesis to explain the process of formation
of the stars and planets, presented in various forms by Kant, Herschel,
Laplace, and others. As formed by Laplace, it supposed the matter of
the solar system to have existed originally in the form of a vast,
diffused, revolving nebula, which, gradually cooling and contracting,
threw off, in obedience to mechanical and physical laws, succesive
rings of matter, from which subsequently, by the same laws, were
produced the several planets, satellites, and other bodies of the
system. The phrase may indicate any hypothesis according to which the
stars or the bodies of the solar system have been evolved from a widely
diffused nebulous form of matter.
Neb"u*la`ted (?), a. Clouded with indistinct color markings, as an
animal.
Neb`u*la"tion (?), n. The condition of being nebulated; also, a
clouded, or ill-defined, color mark.
Neb"ule (?), n. [Cf. F. nébule. See nebula.] A little cloud; a cloud.
[Obs.]
O light without nebule.
Old Ballad.
{ ||Né`bu`lé" (?), Neb"u*ly (?) }, a. [F. nébulé.] (Her.) Composed of
successive short curves supposed to resemble a cloud; -- said of a
heraldic line by which an ordinary or subordinary may be bounded.
Neb`u*li*za"tion (?), n. (Med.) The act or process of nebulizing;
atomization.
Neb"u*lize (?), v. t. [See Nebula.] To reduce (as a liquid) to a fine
spray or vapor; to atomize.
Neb"u*li`zer (?), n. An atomizer.
Neb"u*lose` (?), a. Nebulous; cloudy. Derham.
Neb`u*los"i*ty (?), n. [L. nebulositas: cf. F. nébulosité] 1. The state
or quality of being nebulous; cloudiness; haziness; mistiness;
nebulousness.
The nebulosity . . . of the mother idiom.