From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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.
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He served great Hector, and was ever near,
Not with his trumpet only, but his spear. --Dryden.
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2. Closely connected or related.
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She is thy father's near kinswoman. --Lev. xviii.
12.
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3. Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; touching, or
affecting intimately; intimate; dear; as, a near friend.
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4. Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose,
or rambling; as, a version near to the original.
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5. So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close;
narrow[3]; as, a near escape; a near miss.
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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.
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7. Immediate; direct; close; short. "The nearest way."
--Milton.
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8. Close-fisted; parsimonious. [Obs. or Low, Eng.]
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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.
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Syn: Nigh; close; adjacent; proximate; contiguous; present;
ready; intimate; familiar; dear.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
nearest
adv 1: (superlative of `near' or `close') within the shortest
distance; "that was the time he came nearest to death"
[syn: {nearest}, {nighest}, {closest}]
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