See Also: Nigh(medicine)
nigh(1)(dictionary)
nigh(2)(dictionary)
well-nigh(dictionary)
nigh(dictionary)
well-nigh(dictionary)

nigh(1) (iou)



nigh adverb, preposition, & adjective. Now arch., dial., & literary. Compar. NEAR adverb1 & preposition1, NAR, (later) nigher; superl. NEXT, (later) nighest.
[Old English neah, neh, corresp. to Old Frisian nei, ni, Old Saxon, Old High German nah (Dutch na, German nah), Old Norse na-, Gothic nehw- (nehw preposition, nehwa adverb), from Germanic.]
I. adverb, preposition, & pred. adjective.
Near in place, time, etc.; near to or (un)to; nearby, near at hand. OE.
Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream Never harm Nor spell nor charm Come our lovely lady nigh. J. Pory The citie of Tunis..hath no mountaines nigh vnto it. T. Gray Some frail memorial still erected nigh. John Neal The..dog would not leave him; but crawled nigher. J. F. Cooper A bay nigh the northern termination of the lake. E. Myers When man's heart is nighest heaven. Cornish Times Smallholders who..have land nigh new estates. P. Ustinov Signs that the end of the world was nigh. G. Swift Judgement was nigh, the denouement was due.
Near in degree, amount, kind, etc.; nearly, almost, all but, (also nigh on). OE.
Leigh Hunt Her sarcasms..go nigh to confirm it. Tennyson The wood is nigh as full of thieves as leaves. D. L. Sayers It nigh frightened my brither's wife into a fit. F. Reid It took me nigh and next an hour trying to clean your clothes. Time All the..highways were nigh bare of automobiles. E. Jones His father..was now nigh on seventy. P. Ryan I nigh on missed my bus home.
II. attrib. adjective.
Near, close. OE.
Coleridge The nigh thatch Smokes in the sun-thaw. Sir W. Scott The nigher and the safer road to Liege.
Parsimonious, mean. M16.
Comb.: nigh-hand adverb & preposition (a) near or close at hand (to); close by; (b) almost, nearly.
nighly adverb (a) nearly, almost; (b) closely: OE.