Peer — Defs

01 v. i. To come in sight; to appear.

imp. & p. p. Peered; p. pr. & vb. n. Peering

1.
To come in sight; to appear.[Poetic]
“So honor peereth in the meanest habit.” — Shak.

“See how his gorget peers above his gown!” — B. Jonson.
2.
To look narrowly or curiously or intently; to peep; as, the peering day.
“Peering in maps for ports, and piers, and roads.” — Shak.

“As if through a dungeon grate he peered.” — Coleridge.

02 n. One of the same rank, quality, endowments, character, etc.; an equal; a match; a mate.

1.
One of the same rank, quality, endowments, character, etc.; an equal; a match; a mate.
“In song he never had his peer.” — Dryden.

“Shall they consort only with their peers?” — I. Taylor.
2.
A comrade; a companion; a fellow; an associate.
“He all his peers in beauty did surpass.” — Spenser.
3.
A nobleman; a member of one of the five degrees of the British nobility, namely, duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron; as, a peer of the realm.
“A noble peer of mickle trust and power.” — Milton.

Phrases & compounds

House of Peers — the British House of Lords. See Parliament.

Spiritual peers — the bishops and archibishops, or lords spiritual, who sit in the House of Lords.

03 v. t. To make equal in rank.

04 v. t. To be, or to assume to be, equal.