A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1971 (DOST Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1596-1650
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(Ner by,) Nar by, adv. = Nere by adv. A. a. Near by, close at hand. b. Nearly, approximately, ‘more or less’. —a. a1597-1617 Hist. Jas. VI 6.
His servand sleaping nar by a1597-1617 Ib. 47.
It persit also a horse nar by a1597-1617 Ib. 222. 1608 Inverness Rec. II. 57.
War nocht God and guid reddaris that stuid nar byb. c1650 Spalding II. 216.
The hie altar standing vpone the eist wall of Bischop Gawin Dumbaris iyll, alss heiche nar by as the sylring thairof
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"Ner By adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/ner_by>
