Near, nēr, adj. nigh: not far away in place or time: close in kin or friendship: dear: following or imitating anything closely: close, narrow, so as barely to escape: short, as a road: greedy, stingy: on the left in riding or driving.—adv. at a little distance: almost: closely,—prep. close to.—v.t. and v.i. to approach: to come nearer.—adjs. Near′-by, adjacent; Near′-hand (Scot.), near—also adv. nearly.—adv. Near′ly, at no great distance: closely: intimately: pressingly: almost: stingily.—n. Near′ness, the state of being near: closeness: intimacy: close alliance: stinginess.—adj. Near′-sight′ed, seeing distinctly only when near, myopic, short-sighted.—n. Near′-sight′edness.—Near point, the nearest point the eye can focus. [A.S. neár, comp. of neáh, nigh; Ice. nær; Ger. näher.]
Nearctic, nē-ark′tik, adj. of or pertaining to the northern part of the New World—embracing temperate and arctic North America.
Neat, nēt, adj. belonging to the bovine genus.—n. black-cattle: an ox or cow.—ns. Neat′-herd, one who herds, or has the care of, neat or cattle; Neat′-house, a building for the shelter of neat-cattle.—Neat's-foot oil, an oil obtained from the feet of oxen; Neat's leather, leather made of the hides of neat-cattle. [A.S. neát, cattle, a beast—neótan, niótan, to use; cf. Scot. nowt, black-cattle.]
Neat, nēt, adj. trim: tidy: clean: well-shaped: without mixture or adulteration: finished, adroit, clever, skilful.—adj. Neat′-hand′ed, dexterous.—adv. Neat′ly.—n. Neat′ness. [Fr. net—L. nitidus, shining—nìtēre, to shine.]
Neb, neb, n. the beak of a bird: the nose: the sharp point of anything.—adj. Nebb′y (Scot.), saucy. [A.S. nebb, the face; cog. with Dut. neb, beak.]
Nebbuk, neb′uk, n. a shrub, Zizyphus Spina-Christi, one of the thorns of Christ's crown.
Nebel, neb′el, n. a Hebrew stringed instrument.
Neb-neb, neb′-neb, n. the dried pods of a species of acacia found in Africa, which are much used in Egypt for tanning—called also Bablah.
Nebris, neb′ris, n. a fawn-skin worn in imitation of Bacchus by his priests and votaries.
Nebula, neb′ū-la, n. a little cloud: a faint, misty appearance in the heavens produced either by a group of stars too distant to be seen singly, or by diffused gaseous matter:—pl. Neb′ulæ.—adjs. Neb′ular, pertaining to nebulæ: like nebulæ; Nebulé (neb-ū-lā′), curved in and out (her.); Neb′ulose, Neb′ulous, misty, hazy, vague: relating to, or having the appearance of, a nebula.—ns. Nebulos′ity, Neb′ulousness.—Nebular hypothesis, the theory of Laplace and Sir W. Herschel that nebulæ form the earliest stage in the formation of stars and planets. [L.; Gr. nephelē, cloud, mist.]