Nigh NIGH, a. [G. A preposition signifying to, on or after, that is,
approaching, pressing on, making towards; strait, narrow.] 1. Near;
not distant or remote in place or time. The loud tumult shows the
battle nigh. When the fig-tree putteth forth leaves, ye know that
summer is nigh. 2. Closely allied by blood; as a nigh kinsman.
3. Easy to be obtained or learnt; of easy access. The word is
very nigh unto thee. Deu 30. 4. Ready to support, to forgive, or
to aid and defend. The Lord is nigh unto them who are of a broken
heart. Psa 34. 5. Close in fellowship; intimate in relation.
Ye are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Eph 2. 6. Near in progress
or condition. Heb 6. NIGH, adv. ni. 1. Near; at a small
distance in place or time, or in the course of events. He was sick,
nigh to death. Phil 2. 2. Near to a place. He drew nigh.
3. Almost; near. He was nigh dead. Nigh is never a preposition. In
the phrase, nigh this recess, with terror they survey, there is an
ellipsis of to. They, nigh to this recess, survey, etc. NIGH,
v.i. ni. To approach; to advance or draw near. [Not used.]
nigh
adj 1: not far distant in time or space or degree or
circumstances; "near neighbors"; "in the near future";
"they are near equals"; "his nearest approach to
success"; "a very near thing"; "a near hit by the bomb";
"she was near tears"; "she was close to tears"; "had a
close call" [syn: near, close, nigh] [ant: far]
2: being on the left side; "the near or nigh horse is the one on
the left"; "the animal's left side is its near or nigh side"
[syn: near(a), nigh(a)]
adv 1: near in time or place or relationship; "as the wedding
day drew near"; "stood near the door"; "don't shoot until
they come near"; "getting near to the true explanation";
"her mother is always near"; "The end draws nigh"; "the
bullet didn't come close"; "don't get too close to the
fire" [syn: near, nigh, close]
2: (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite
accomplished; all but; "the job is (just) about done"; "the
baby was almost asleep when the alarm sounded"; "we're almost
finished"; "the car all but ran her down"; "he nearly
fainted"; "talked for nigh onto 2 hours"; "the recording is
well-nigh perfect"; "virtually all the parties signed the
contract"; "I was near exhausted by the run"; "most everyone
agrees" [syn: about, almost, most, nearly, near,
nigh, virtually, well-nigh]
nigh
O.E. neah (W.Saxon), neh (Anglian). The O.E. progression was neah near
niehsta, for "nigh near next." But the comp. near and the superl. nehst
gradually evolved into separate words not felt as related to nigh. New
comp. and superl. forms, nigher, nighest, developed 1300s as phonetic
changes obscured the original relationships.
nigh I. adverbEtymology: Middle English, from Old English nēah; akin to Old
High German nāh, adverb, nigh, preposition, nigh, after, Old Norse
nā- nigh Date: before 12th century 1. near in place,
time, or relationship — often used with on, onto, or unto2.nearly, almostII. adjectiveDate: before 12th century 1.close, near2.chiefly dialectdirect, short3.
being on the left side <the nigh horse>
III. prepositionDate: before 12th century
nearIV. verbDate: 13th century transitive verb
to draw or come near to ;approachintransitive verb
to draw near
nigh
1. If an event is nigh, it will happen very soon. (OLD-FASHIONED)
The end of the world may be nigh, but do we really care?...ADV: be ADVsee alsowell-nigh
2. Nigh on an amount, number, or age means almost that amount, number, or
age. (OLD-FASHIONED)
I had to pay nigh on forty pounds for it.= nearly
PHRASE: PHR amount
Nigh \Nigh\, a. [Compar. Nigher; superl. Nighest, or
Next.] [OE. nigh, neigh, neih, AS. ne['a]h, n?h; akin to D.
na, adv., OS. n[=a]h, a., OHG. n[=a]h, G. nah, a., nach to,
after, Icel. n[=a] (in comp.) nigh, Goth. n?hw, n?hwa, adv.,
nigh. Cf. Near, Neighbor, Next.]
1. Not distant or remote in place or time; near.
The loud tumult shows the battle nigh. --Prior.
2. Not remote in degree, kindred, circumstances, etc.;
closely allied; intimate. ``Nigh kinsmen.'' --Knolles.
Ye . . . are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
--Eph. ii. 13.
Syn: Near; close; adjacent; contiguous; present; neighboring.
Nigh \Nigh\, adv. [AS. ne['a]h, n?h. See Nigh, a.]
1. In a situation near in place or time, or in the course of
events; near.
He was sick, nigh unto death. --Phil. ii.
27.
He drew not nigh unheard; the angel bright, Ere he
drew nigh, his radiant visage turned. --Milton.
2. Almost; nearly; as, he was nigh dead.
nigh
I. a.1. Near, adjacent, adjoining, contiguous, close by, close, close at hand, bordering upon,
approximate to, hard by.
2. Near, present, proximate.
3. Intimate, closely allied.
II. ad.1. Near.
2. Almost, nearly.
III. prep.
Near, close to, close by, not far from.
96 Moby Thesaurus words for "nigh":
about, all but, almost, along toward, approach, approaching,
approximate, approximating, arm-in-arm, around, as good as, aside,
at close quarters, at hand, at next hand, beside, bordering on,
burning, by, cheek-by-jowl, circa, close, close about,
close at hand, close by, close to, close upon, closely, come near,
converge, counterclockwise, draw near, draw nigh, fast by,
hand-in-hand, hard, hard by, hard on, hereabout, hereabouts, hot,
immediate, in spitting distance, intimate, just about, larboard,
left, left-hand, left-wing, left-wingish, levorotatory, liberal,
near, near at hand, near the mark, near to, near upon, nearabout,
nearabouts, nearby, nearing, nearish, nearly, next door to,
nigh about, nighhand, nighish, not far, not far from, not quite,
only a step, port, pretty near, propinque, proximal, proximate,
radical, round, side-by-side, sinister, sinistral,
sinistrocerebral, sinistrocular, sinistrogyrate, sinistrorse,
thereabout, thereabouts, verging on, verging upon, vicinal, warm,
well-nigh, within call, within earshot, within hearing,
within reach
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