Etymograph

English

near

Near comes from Middle English nere, from Old English nēar ‘nearer’ (comparative of nēah ‘nigh’), from Proto-Germanic *nēhwiz ‘nearer’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- ‘to reach’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂neḱ-1‘to reach’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂nḗḱwos2reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nēhwaz1‘nigh’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nēhw1‘near’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nēhwiz2‘nearer’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150nēar2‘nearer’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nere2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611near2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English neah
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English near
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “she is thy fathers neere kinswoman.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂neḱ-Wiktionary, Old English neah‘to reach’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂nḗḱwosWiktionary, English nearreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nēhwazWiktionary, Old English neah‘nigh’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nēhwWiktionary, Old English neah‘near’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nēhwizWiktionary, English near‘nearer’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150nēarWiktionary, English near‘nearer’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nereWiktionary, English near
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611nearWiktionary, English near. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “she is thy fathers neere kinswoman.”

The story

From Middle English nere, ner, from Old English nēar (“nearer”, comparative of nēah (‘nigh’), the superlative would become next), influenced by Old Norse nær (‘near’), both originating from Proto-Germanic *nēhwiz (‘nearer’), comparative of the adverb *nēhw (‘near’), from the adjective *nēhwaz, ultimately from Pre-Proto-Germanic *h₂nḗḱwos, a lengthened-grade adjective derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- (‘to reach’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with near, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Germanic *nēhwaz ‘nigh, near, close’

  • neighbour ← neighebour ← nēahġebūr ← *nāhwagabūrō ← *nēhwagabūrô

through Old English nēah ‘nearer’

  • next ← nexte ← nīehsta ← nīehst
  • nigh ← neygh

through Middle English nere

  • kidney ← kideney ← kidenere

4 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

adj Physically close.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “near”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English neah. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- / near