Neighbourship
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The state or condition of being neighbours; a connection or relationship between people or things which is based simply on living close geographically.
"He called to his mind and said: "Surely the Ant had in former days his dwelling underneath this tree, and was busy in hoarding a store of provision: now I will lay my wants before her, and, in the name of good neighbourship, and with an appeal to her generosity, beg some small relief."
- 2 A relationship between people and / or things which is based simply on being of a similar class.
"Their conveyance is no handsome carriage, but a rickety dog-cart, unmistakably betraying its neighbourship to the carts and ploughs of some rural farmyard."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"He called to his mind and said: "Surely the Ant had in former days his dwelling underneath this tree, and was busy in hoarding a store of provision: now I will lay my wants before her, and, in the name of good neighbourship, and with an appeal to her generosity, beg some small relief."
Etymology
From Northern Middle English nychtbourschype, neȝeborusipe, equivalent to neighbour + -ship. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Noaberskup (“neighbourship”), West Frisian neibuorskip (“neighbourship”), Dutch nabuurschap (“neighbourship”), German Low German Naberskupp, Naverschop (“neighbourhood; neighbourship”), German Nachbarschaft (“neighbourship; neighborhood”), Danish naboskab (“neighbourship”), Swedish naboskap (“neighbourship”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.