Nearby

Nearby

Adjective / Adverb · /ˌnɪəˈbaɪ/

Definition

(Adjective/Adverb) situated or living a short distance away; close at hand; not far off.

Origin

Compound of near + by. Near from Old English nēar, comparative of nēah (nigh, close), from Proto-Germanic *nēhwaz. By from Old English bī (near, alongside). The compound nearby therefore being redundant in its original components — both elements meaning close or beside — but the pairing becoming idiomatic and fixed in English. The word functioning as both adjective (a nearby village) and adverb (she lives nearby) without change of form.