a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
O.E. near "closer, nearer," comp. of neah, neh "nigh." Influenced by O.N. naer "near," it came to be used as a positive form mid-13c., and new comp. nearer developed 1500s (see nigh). Originally an adv., but now supplanted in most such senses by nearly; it has in turn supplanted
correct nigh as an adjective. In near and dear (1620s) it refers to nearness of kinship. Verb meaning "to draw near" is attested from 1510s. Near East first attested 1891, in Kipling. Near beer "low-alcoholic brew" is from 1909.