- House of Peers
- Peer Peer, n. [OE. per, OF. per, F. pair, fr. L. par equal.
Cf. {Apparel}, {Pair}, {Par}, n., {Umpire}.]
1. One of the same rank, quality, endowments, character,
etc.; an equal; a match; a mate.
[1913 Webster]
In song he never had his peer. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
Shall they consort only with their peers? --I. Taylor. [1913 Webster]
2. A comrade; a companion; a fellow; an associate. [1913 Webster]
He all his peers in beauty did surpass. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
A noble peer of mickle trust and power. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
{House of Peers}, {The Peers}, the British House of Lords. See {Parliament}.
{Spiritual peers}, the bishops and archibishops, or lords spiritual, who sit in the House of Lords. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.