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Definition of peer - 12 dictionary results

peer

1  [peer]
Use peer in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person of the same legal status: a jury of one's peers.
2. a person who is equal to another in abilities, qualifications, age, background, and social status.
3. something of equal worth or quality: a sky-scraper without peer.
4. a nobleman.
5. a member of any of the five degrees of the nobility in Great Britain and Ireland (duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron).
6. Archaic. a companion.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME per < OF per < L pār equal

peer

2  [peer]
–verb (used without object)
1. to look narrowly or searchingly, as in the effort to discern clearly.
2. to peep out or appear slightly.
3. to come into view.
Origin:
1585–95; perh. aph. var. of appear

Related forms:
peer⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. See peep 1 .
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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peer 1   (pîr)   
intr.v.   peered, peer·ing, peers
  1. To look intently, searchingly, or with difficulty. See Synonyms at gaze.
  2. To be partially visible; show: The moon peered from behind dark clouds.

[Middle English piren (probably from Frisian piren) and peren (short for aperen, to appear; see appear).]
peer 2   (pîr)   
n.  
  1. A person who has equal standing with another or others, as in rank, class, or age: children who are easily influenced by their peers.
    1. A nobleman.
    2. A man who holds a peerage by descent or appointment.
  3. Archaic A companion; a fellow: "To stray away into these forests drear,/Alone, without a peer" (John Keats).

[Middle English, from Old French per, equal, peer, from Latin pār; see perə-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Peer

Peer\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Peered; p. pr. & vb. n. Peering.] [OF. parir, pareir equiv. to F. para[^i]tre to appear, L. parere. Cf. Appear.]

1. To come in sight; to appear. [Poetic]

So honor peereth in the meanest habit. --Shak.

See how his gorget peers above his gown! --B. Jonson.

2. [Perh. a different word; cf. OE. piren, LG. piren. Cf. Pry to peep.] To look narrowly or curiously or intently; to peep; as, the peering day. --Milton.

Peering in maps for ports, and piers, and roads. --Shak.

As if through a dungeon grate he peered. --Coleridge.

Peer

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

1. One of the same rank, quality, endowments, character, etc.; an equal; a match; a mate.

In song he never had his peer. --Dryden.

Shall they consort only with their peers? --I. Taylor.

2. A comrade; a companion; a fellow; an associate.

He all his peers in beauty did surpass. --Spenser.

3. 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.

A noble peer of mickle trust and power. --Milton.

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

Peer\ v. t. To make equal in rank. [R.] --Heylin.

Peer

Peer\ v. t. To be, or to assume to be, equal. [R.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : peer
Spanish: par, noble,
German: Angehörige(r) des britischen Hochadels,
Japanese: 貴族
More Translations »

peer  (n.)
1303, "an equal in civil standing or rank" (1215 in Anglo-L.), from Anglo-Fr. peir, O.Fr. per (10c.), from L. par "equal." Sense of "noble" (1382) is from Charlemagne's Twelve Peers in the old romances, like knights of the Round Table, originally so called because all were equal. Sociological sense of "one of the same age group or social set" is from 1944. Peerage first recorded 1454. Peer review is first recorded 1971.

peer  (v.)
1591, variant of piren (1390), with a long -i-, probably related to or from E. Fris. piren "to look," of uncertain origin. Influenced in form and sense by M.E. peren (c.1375), aphetic form of aperen (see appear).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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peer networking
A unit of communications hardware or software that is on the same protocol layer of a network as another. A common way of viewing a communications link is as two protocol stacks, which are actually connected only at the very lowest (physical) layer, but can be regarded as being connected at each higher layer by virtue of the services provided by the lower layers. Peer-to-peer communication refers to these real or virtual connections between corresponding systems in each layer.
To give a simple example, when two people talk to each other, the lowest layer is the physical layer which concerns the sound pressure waves travelling from mouth to ear (so mouths and ears are peers) the next layer might be the speech and hearing centres in the people's brains and the top layer their cerebellums or minds. Although, barring telepathy, nothing passes directly between the two minds, there is a peer-to-peer communication between them.
(2007-03-27)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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PEER
  1. Performance Efficiency Evaluation Report
  2. Program for Extraordinary Experience Research
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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