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neighbor

Etymology and origin of the English word neighbor

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
before 899
From
Old English nēahġebūr

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈneɪ.bɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English neighebor, inherited from Old English nēahġebūr (“one who dwells nearby”) (West Saxon) and nēhebūr (Anglian),[2][3][4] a compound of nēah, near (see nigh), and ġebūr, dweller, related to būr, dwelling (see bower),[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *(ga)būraz, from PIE Proto-Indo-European *bheue- (“to be, exist, grow”).[2][5] It is a common West Germanic compound, compare Dutch nabuur and German Nachbar.[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who lives nearby: before 899, in Alfred's translation of Gregory's Pastoral Care;[3] nehhebure in the Peterborough Chronicle (1117).[3]

Semantic evolution

AHD 4 notes that the West Germanic *nāhgabūr meant a near dweller, especially a farmer, and that the word has kept that literal sense although today one can have many neighbours one does not know.[5] The extension to a fellow human being is probably due to the Christian concern with the treatment of others, as in Matthew 19:19.[5] The verb, to live or be near, is from before 1586, in Sidney's Arcadia (the 1580s).[3][2] Neighborhood, friendly relations between neighbours, is from before 1425, and vicinity from 1577.[3] Good neighbor was used of United States policy toward Latin America by Herbert Hoover in 1928, and the Good Neighbor policy is attested by 1937.[2]

Timeline

  • before 899 – nēahġebūr.[3]
  • 1117 – nehhebure.[3]
  • before 1586 – the verb.[3]
  • 1928 – good neighbor, of US policy.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who lives next to or near another.
  2. A person, place or thing near or next to another.
  3. A fellow human being.
  4. Used as a familiar form of address.

Verb

  1. To lie close to or border on.

Adjective

  1. Situated or living nearby.

Word family

Usage notes

Neighbor is the American spelling and neighbour the British one.[6]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2009), 5th ed., Harlow: Pearson Longman

Related etymologies

  • sink · also from Old English
  • bitter · also from Old English
  • stole · also from Old English
  • nail · also from Old English
  • ken · also from Old English
  • hood · also from Old English
  • duck · also from Old English
  • dish · also from Old English
Cite this entry

“Neighbor.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/neighbor. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·