Peer

• POS: Noun, Verb (intransitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Peer, v. i. [OF. parir, pareir equiv. to F. paraître to appear, L. parere. Cf. Appear.].

•  To come in sight; to appear.  [1913 Webster]

  "So honor peereth in the meanest habit."  [1913 Webster]

  "See how his gorget peers above his gown!"  [1913 Webster]
•  To look narrowly or curiously or intently; to peep; as, the peering day.  Milton.  [1913 Webster]

  "Peering in maps for ports, and piers, and roads."  [1913 Webster]

  "As if through a dungeon grate he peered."  [1913 Webster]

Peer, n. [OE. per, OF. per, F. pair, fr. L. par equal. Cf. Apparel, Pair, Par, n., Umpire.].

•  One of the same rank, quality, endowments, character, etc.; an equal; a match; a mate.  [1913 Webster]

  "In song he never had his peer."  [1913 Webster]

  "Shall they consort only with their peers?"  [1913 Webster]
•  A comrade; a companion; a fellow; an associate.  [1913 Webster]

  "He all his peers in beauty did surpass."  [1913 Webster]
•  A nobleman; a member of one of the five degrees of the British nobility, namely, duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron; as, a peer of the realm.  [1913 Webster]

  "A noble peer of mickle trust and power."  [1913 Webster]

House of Peers, The Peers, the British House of Lords. See Parliament. -- Spiritual peers, the bishops and archibishops, or lords spiritual, who sit in the House of Lords.

Peer, v. t. 

 To make equal in rank.  Heylin.  [1913 Webster]

Peer, v. t. 

 To be, or to assume to be, equal.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Peer, v.intr.
1 (usu. foll. by into, at, etc.) look keenly or with difficulty (peered into the fog).
2 appear; peep out.
3 archaic come into view.

Peer, n. & v.
--n.
1 a (fem. peeress) a member of one of the degrees of the nobility in Britain, i.e. a duke, marquis, earl, viscount, or baron. b a noble of any country.
2 a person who is equal in ability, standing, rank, or value; a contemporary (tried by a jury of his peers).
--v.intr. & tr. (usu. foll. by with) rank or cause to rank equally.

Idiom

peer group a group of people of the same age, status, interests, etc. peer of the realm (or the United Kingdom) any of the class of peers whose adult members may all sit in the House of Lords.

Derivative

peerless adj.

Etymology

ME f. AF & OF pe(e)r, perer f. LL pariare f. L par equal

THESAURUS

Peer

Brahman, appear, archduke, aristocrat, armiger, associate, autopsy, baron, baroness, baronet, be curious, become visible, bend the eyes, blue blood, bore, break through, burn with curiosity, canvass, check, check out, check over, check up on, coequal, colleague, compeer, confrere, count, counterpart, countess, daimio, delve into, dig around for, dig into, dig up, direct the eyes, ditto, duchess, duke, earl, emerge, equal, equipollent, equivalent, esquire, examine, explore, eye, fathom, fellow, gape, gaup, gawk, gentleman, give an examination, glare, gloat, go into, go over, goggle, grand duke, grandee, hidalgo, indagate, inquire, inspect, interrogate, investigate, lace-curtain, lady, laird, landgrave, like, look, look at, look into, look over, lord, lordling, magnate, magnifico, marchioness, margrave, marquis, match, mate, monitor, noble, nobleman, noblewoman, nose around for, nose out, observe, opposite number, optimate, overhaul, overlook, palsgrave, parallel, pass over, pass under review, patrician, peek, peep, peep out, peer at, peer into, peruse, play peekaboo, plumb, poke into, pore over, postmortem, probe, pry, pry into, query, question, quiz, review, rival, rubber, rubberneck, run over, scan, scrutinize, search into, seek, seigneur, seignior, set an examination, show, sift, silk-stocking, size, size up, snoop, sound, sovereign, spy, squire, stare, study, survey, swell, take a peep, take stock of, take the measure, thoroughbred, twin, upper-cruster, viscount, viscountess, waldgrave, want to know

ROGET THESAURUS

Peer

Equality

N equality, parity, coextension, symmetry, balance, poise, evenness, monotony, level, equivalence, equipollence, equipoise, equilibrium, equiponderance, par, quits, a wash, not a pin to choose, distinction without a difference, six of one and half a dozen of the other, tweedle dee and tweedle dum, identity, similarity, equalization, equation, equilibration, co-ordination, adjustment, readjustment, drawn game, drawn battle, neck and neck race, tie, draw, standoff, dead heat, match, peer, compeer, equal, mate, fellow, brother, equivalent, equal, even, level, monotonous, coequal, symmetrical, coordinate, on a par with, on a level with, on a footing with, up to the mark, equiparant, equivalent, tantamount, indistinguishable, quits, homologous, synonymous, resolvable into, convertible, much at one, as broad as long, neither more nor less, much the same as, the same thing as, as good as, all one, all the same, equipollent, equiponderant, equiponderous, equibalanced, equalized, drawn, half and half, isochronal, isochronous isoperimetric, isoperimetrical, isobath, isobathic, equally, pari passu, ad eundum, caeteris paribus, in equilibrio, to all intents and purposes, it comes to the same thing, it amounts to the same thing, what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gande.

Nobility

N nobility, rank, condition, distinction, optimacy, blood, pur sang, birth, high descent, order, quality, gentility, blue blood of Castile, ancien regime, high life, haute monde, upper classes, upper ten thousand, the four hundred, elite, aristocracy, great folks, fashionable world, peer, peerage, house of lords, house of peers, lords, lords temporal and spiritual, noblesse, noble, nobleman, lord, lordling, grandee, magnifico, hidalgo, daimio, daimyo, samurai, shizoku, don, donship, aristocrat, swell, three- tailed bashaw, gentleman, squire, squireen, patrician, laureate, gentry, gentlefolk, squirarchy, better sort magnates, primates, optimates, pantisocracy, king, atheling, prince, duke, marquis, marquisate, earl, viscount, baron, thane, banneret, baronet, baronetcy, knight, knighthood, count, armiger, laird, signior, seignior, esquire, boyar, margrave, vavasour, emir, ameer, scherif, sharif, effendi, wali, sahib, chevalier, maharaja, nawab, palsgrave, pasha, rajah, waldgrave, princess, begum, duchess, marchioness, countess, lady, dame, memsahib, Do$a, maharani, rani, personage of distinction, man of distinction, personage of rank, man of rank, personage of mark, man of mark, notables, notabilities, celebrity, bigwig, magnate, great man, star, superstar, big bug, big gun, great gun, gilded rooster, magni nominis umbra, every inch a king, noble, exalted, of rank, princely, titled, patrician, aristocratic, high-, well-born, of gentle blood, genteel, comme il faut, gentlemanlike, courtly, highly respectable, in high quarters, Adel sitzt im Gemuthe nicht im Gebluete, adelig und edel sind zweierlei, noblesse oblige.

Vision

VB see, behold, discern, perceive, have in sight, descry, sight, make out, discover, distinguish, recognize, spy, espy, ken, get a sight of, have a sight of, catch a sight of, get a glimpse of, have a glimpse of, catch a glimpse of, command a view of, witness, contemplate, speculate, cast the eyes on, set the eyes on, be a spectator of, look on, see sights, see at a glance, look, view, eye, lift up the eyes, open one's eye, look at, look on, look upon, look over, look about one, look round, survey, scan, inspect, run the eye over, run the eye through, reconnoiter, glance round, glance on, glance over turn one's looks upon, bend one's looks upon, direct the eyes to, turn the eyes on, cast a glance, observe, watch, see with one's own eyes, watch for, peep, peer, pry, take a peep, play at bopeep, look full in the face, look hard at, look intently, strain one's eyes, fix the eyes upon, rivet the eyes upon, stare, gaze, pore over, gloat on, leer, ogle, glare, goggle, cock the eye, squint, gloat, look askance.

Inquiry

VB make inquiry, inquire, ask, seek, search, look for, look about for, look out for, scan, reconnoiter, explore, sound, rummage, ransack, pry, peer, look round, look over, go over, look through, go through, spy, overhaul, ask about, inquire about, scratch the head, slap the forehead, look into every hole and corner, peer into every hole and corner, pry into every hole and corner, nose, trace up, search out, hunt down, hunt out, fish out, ferret out, unearth, leave no stone unturned, seek a clue, seek a clew, hunt, track, trail, mouse, dodge, trace, follow the trail, follow the scent, pursue, beat up one's quarters, fish for, feel for, investigate, take up an inquiry, institute an inquiry, pursue an inquiry, follow up an inquiry, conduct an inquiry, carry on an inquiry, carry out an inquiry, prosecute an inquiry, look at, look into, preexamine, discuss, canvass, agitate, examine, study, consider, calculate, dip into, dive into, delve into, go deep into, make sure of, probe, sound, fathom, probe to the bottom, probe to the quick, scrutinize, analyze, anatomize, dissect, parse, resolve, sift, winnow, view in all its phases, try in all its phases, thresh out, bring in question, bring into question, subject to examination, put to the proof, audit, tax, pass in review, take into consideration, take counsel, question, demand, put the question, pop the question, propose the question, propound the question, moot the question, start the question, raise the question, stir the question, suggest the question, put forth the question, ventilate the question, grapple with the question, go into a question, question, put to the question, interrogate, pump, subject to interrogation, subject to examination, cross-question, cross-examine, press for an answer, give the third degree, put to the inquisition, dodge, catechize, require an answer, pick the brains of, suck the brains of, feel the pulse, get the lay of the land, see how the wind is blowing, put one's ear to the ground, be in question, undergo examination.