proximityn.
/prɒkˈsɪmᵻti/, U.S. /prɑkˈsɪmᵻdi/ 1. The fact or condition of being near or close in abstract relations, as kinship (esp. in proximity of blood), time, nature, etc.; closeness.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > [noun] > nearness of
nighnessa1398
propinquity?a1425
nearness1444
proximity1480
germanity1597
the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun] > affinity or closeness
cousinagea1398
alliancea1475
affinityc1485
propinquitya1500
societya1513
kindred1528
cognationa1555
affinitive1579
sympathya1586
vicinity1594
affiance1597
contingence1612
contingency1612
congeniality1620
umbilicality1646
consanguinity1651
congeneracy1664
gossipred1674
congenerousness1677
closeness1692
intimacy1720
proximity1762
liaison1809
cousinship1848
affiliation1870
kinship1876
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [noun] > nearness, approach, or imminence
nighness1548
towardness1549
propinquity1611
approacha1616
coming1626
looming1627
impendencya1632
fall1647
imminence1655
impendence1657
instancy1658
imminency1665
soonness1668
incumbence1677
simmering1844
proximity1876
1480 W. Caxton tr. Ovid Metamorphoses xiii. ii By reson of proxymyte I oughte to haue them, syth tht cometh none nerrer heyre than I am.
1521 Ld. Dacre in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. I. 283 Bi reason of the nerenes and proximitie of blood.
1582 in W. Fraser Douglas Bk. (1885) IV. 180 Freindis..belanging to him be proximite of lignage.
1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. ii. xii. 337 Mariages in proximitie of blood are amongst vs forbidden.
1690 P. Ker Conquest of Eloquence 17 But if Proximity of Blood Be sought, to make your Sentence good: Peleus Achilles did Beget.
1721 T. Bolton Sermon 14 That Prince..who by Proximity of Blood succeeded in that Line or Family.
1762 W. Warburton Doctr. Grace Pref. A dark conceit and a dull one have a great proximity in modern wit.
1782 J. H. St. J. de Crèvecoeur Lett. from Amer. Farmer iv. 119 To announce, by the budding of its leaves, the arrival of the spring, and to warn by their fall the proximity of winter.
1855 H. Hallam View Europe Middle Ages (ed. 11) II. vii. 252 True it is that her proximity of blood to the king would not warrant Osbern to call her adultera.
1876 W. E. Gladstone Homeric Synchronism 69 The inferences..are in favour of the Poet's proximity in time to the War of Troy.
1934 M. McLuhan Let. 3 Nov. (1987) 34 Elocution has suffered, more than singing, from its seeming proximity to common parlance.
1973 16th Cent. Jrnl. 4 91 Their strongest legal argument was the law of proximity of blood in a collateral line.
1995 Guardian (Nexis) 29 Nov. 4 Today is nearer than tomorrow; the level of responsibility depends on proximity in time.
2. The fact, condition, or position of being near or close by in space; nearness. Now the dominant sense.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > distance > nearness > [noun]
sideOE
nighnessOE
propinquity?a1425
neighboured1440
neighbourshipc1485
nearnessc1545
vicinity1560
neighbourhood1567
proximity1579
affinity1612
appropinquity1646
voisinage1665
vicinage1686
proximation1802
proximateness1881
1579 G. Fenton tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin i. 21 The proximitie and neighbourhood of Myllan with Fraunce.
a1629 T. Goffe Careles Shepherdess (1656) 7 There's Antipathy betwixt the Vine and Lawrell; And since they hate Proximity i'th' Garden.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Christian Morals (1716) iii. 87 Tempt not Contagion by proximity, and hazard not thy self in the shadow of Corruption.
1752 Philos. Trans. 1749–50 (Royal Soc.) 46 155 The stream..will run South, if the proximity of land or shoals does not hinder this change of direction.
1794 G. Adams Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. III. xxv. 71 The effect of the proximity was a strong adhesion of the bodies.
1845 J. R. McCulloch Treat. Taxation i. iii. 108 Our proximity to Ireland.
1872 H. I. Jenkinson Guide Eng. Lake District (1879) 286 Owing to the close proximity to the sea.
1920 D. H. Lawrence Women in Love vi. 66 He felt that the girl was physically aware of his proximity.
1988 J. G. Ballard Running Wild 8 The chief attraction for..the architects and property developers..was the proximity of the M4 motorway.
2004 N.Y. Times 8 Dec. c10/3 The Aleutian low, named for its proximity to the Alaskan archipelago, appears on weather maps most of the year.
Compounds
C1.
proximity fuse n. an electronic detonator in a missile, shell, etc., that uses radar to measure its position in relation to a target and operates automatically when it comes within a predetermined distance.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > guided or ballistic missile > [noun] > part of missile
proximity fuse1940
umbilical cord1948
1940 J. Colville Diary 22 July in Fringes of Power (1985) 198 I talked to the Prof. about his secret weapons, the U.P., the P.F. (proximity fuse), G.L. and P.E.
1956 A. H. Compton Atomic Quest 53 Applications of radar in the form of the ‘proximity fuse’ were critically important in bringing victory [in World War II].
1991 N.Y. Times 5 Feb. c10/1 At the flight's very end, a proximity fuse fires an explosive warhead.
proximity-fused adj. (of a missile, shell, etc.) containing a proximity fuse.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > guided or ballistic missile > [adjective] > other attributes
proximity-fused1945
surface-to-air1950
surface-to-surface1951
heat-seeking1956
ship-to-air1957
targetable1968
silo-busting1970
1945 Reno (Nevada) Evening Gaz. 12 Nov. 9 The Germans had tested the proximity-fused missile both as an air-to-air weapon..and as a ground-to-air weapon.
1996 Jrnl. Palestine Stud. 25 142/2 There was considerable evidence of multiple proximity-fused artillery ammunition detonating directly above the compound.
proximity talks n. Politics diplomatic discussions or negotiations in which opposing parties do not meet but are in close proximity to each other and talk through intermediaries.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > [noun] > topic of or subject for conversation or gossip > discussion > discussion of terms > of particular type
war-talk1831
collective bargaining1891
package deal1940
proximity talks1971
1971 Lincoln (Nebraska) Star 7 Dec. Israel and Egypt will hold ‘proximity’ talks in New York.
1986 Christian Sci. Monitor 23 June 15/1 Pakistan,..a key party in the continuing United Nations-sponsored ‘proximity’ talks in Geneva.
1996 Independent 7 Mar. 1/7 The so called ‘proximity talks’ between the constitutional parties in Northern Ireland were now ‘coming together’.
C2. attributive. Computing. In search languages: designating an operator or search which returns results based on the proximity (sense 2) of one search term to another.
ΚΠ
1977 Proc. 5th Ann. ACM Computer Sci. Conf. Jan. 24/2 Search options allow free text searching, proximity searching, comparisons between data elements in a document.
1985 Jrnl. Econ. Lit. 23 1737 In our next example of free-text searching, we looked for articles on comparable worth, using a proximity operator (‘w’ for ‘with’).
1998 B. Garrison Computer-assisted Reporting iii. 85 Words identified in a proximity search do not always have to be in the same order as requested.
2004 Network Computing (Nexis) 11 Nov. 25 Through sophisticated command-line queries using Boolean connectors, proximity operators and pattern matching, you can reduce the irrelevant clutter retrieved by simple searches.
Derivatives
proxˈimitive adj. rare of, relating to, or arising from proximity.
ΚΠ
1888 ‘H. S. Merriman’ Phantom Future II. vi. 85 To get farther from a proximitive influence which was becoming too strong for her.
1928 L. S. Theremin U.S. Patent 1,661,058 2/1 The invention comprises an oscillating system capable of producing audible sound tones and adapted to be influenced or affected by an object or objects, such as the hands or fingers of an operator moved in proximitive relation to an element thereof.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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