near hand

1 of 3

adverb

chiefly Scottish

1

: close by

2

: almost, nearly

near hand

2 of 3

preposition

chiefly Scottish

: close to : next to : near

near hand

3 of 3

adjective

chiefly Scottish

: adjacent, near

Word History

Etymology

Adverb and Adjective

Middle English nerhand, nerehand, from ner, nere near + hand

Preposition

Middle English nerhand, nerehand, from nerhand, nerehand, adverb

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