peer

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
peer1

▶verb

• 1 look with difficulty or concentration.

• 2 be just visible.

– origin C16: perh. a var. of dial. pire or perh. partly from a shortening of appear.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
peer2

▶noun

• 1 a member of the nobility in Britain or Ireland, comprising the ranks of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron.

• 2 a person of the same age, status, or ability as another specified person.

▶verb archaic make or become equal.

– phrases
without peer unrivalled.

– origin ME: from OFr. peer, from L. par ‘equal’.