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Scottish surname, probably shortened/altered from McNair.

From Middle English nere, ner, from Old English nēar (“nearer”, comparative of nēah (“nigh”), the superlative would become next), influenced by Old Norse nær (“near”), both originating from Proto-Germanic *nēhwiz (“nearer”), comparative of the adverb *nēhw (“near”), from the adjective *nēhwaz, ultimately from Pre-Proto-Germanic *h₂nḗḱwos, a lengthened-grade adjective derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- (“to reach”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian nai, noi, näi (“close, near”), Saterland Frisian nai (“close, near”), Dutch na (“close”), naar (“to, towards”), Dutch Low Saxon nao (“after”), German nach (“after”), nahe (“near”), näher (“nearer”), German Low German nao, nå (“towards”), Luxembourgish no (“after”), Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk nær (“close, near”), Swedish när, nära (“close, near”), Gothic 𐌽𐌴𐍈 (nēƕ, “close, near”). See also nigh. Near appears to be derived from (or at the very least influenced by) the North Germanic languages; as opposed to nigh, which continues the inherited West Germanic adjective. Both, however, are ultimately derived from the same Proto-Germanic root: *nēhw (“near, close”).

From Middle English nēre, neere (“kidney, abdomen; (pl.) seat of emotions”), probably from unattested Old English *nēora, *nīora, from Proto-West Germanic *neurō, from Proto-Germanic *neurô; but alternatively borrowed from Middle Low German nêre. Cognate with Scots nere, neir, German Niere, Dutch nier, Norwegian nyre, Icelandic nýra, and more distantly Latin nefronēs pl (Praeneste dialect), Ancient Greek νεφρός (nephrós), all meaning both “kidney” and “testicle”. In most English dialects, this word survived only as a fossil in the second syllable of kidney (earlier kide-nēre), wherein the original r was apparently replaced with y.