Link Centre Dictionary

peer

UK/piː.ə/ US/pi.ɚ/ fairly common informal
verb (1) noun (2)

verb

1.

look searchingly

  • “We peered into the back of the shop to see whether a salesman was around”

noun

1.

a person who is of equal standing with another in a group

Synonyms
2.

a nobleman (duke or marquis or earl or viscount or baron) who is a member of the British peerage

Origin

From Middle English peren, pyren, piren (“to peer, gaze”), perhaps from Old English *pȳran (“to look, peer”), from Proto-West Germanic *pūrijan (“to look”), related to Saterland Frisian pierje (“to look”), Dutch Low Saxon piren (“to look”), West Flemish pieren (“to look with narrowed eyes, squint at”), Dutch pieren (“to look closely at, examine”), Middle English pouren (“to gaze, look closely”), English pore (“to study meticulously”).

Phrases

  • hereditary peer
  • life peer
  • peer assessment
  • peer editing
  • peer group
  • peer of the realm
  • peer pressure
  • peer-reviewed journal

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.