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peer

 - 8 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.
Cite This Source Link To peer
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.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

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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Computing Dictionary

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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Abbreviations & Acronyms
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.
Cite This Source
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